Ways of the Dragonborn: The Hound (3)
by Samuel Keller
Summary: It's one of those days, one of those freaking dog days man.
1. Chapter 1

**Now time for the third man to reveal himself! Technically if you read this after you read the other story (you know, the newer one), then this is the fourth one. But whatever.**

The man walked with his head bowed, his chestnut hair covering his eyes. Both of his axes hung at his side and jarred with every step. His armor was scratched half to hell and his face had a large gash under his left eye.

He walked past a guard, who noted him strangely. Most people who came into Whiterun didn't look so, well, shitty.

"I heard that" muttered the man.

The guard stopped, fearful that the man could actually read his thoughts. Then the man turned and gave a half-hearted smile. "Just kidding. But I'm glad I startled you."

He kept walking; reaching the Wind District he took a right and began walking the steps up to Jorrvaskr. He bobbed on his feet up there, as if he had trouble standing.

He reached the front door and pushed it open. Stepping inside the mead hall he noted the interior surroundings.

Torvar was currently pouring mead into his mouth at an alarming rate, barely compensating with his swallowing. Aela and Njada were currently trading blows with each other, raking their claws and such into various vulnerable parts. Vignar was lying on a nearby chair, and judging by the snoring, was deeply unconscious.

Seeing nothing out of the ordinary, he sat down next to Farkas and began tearing into a leg of boar.

The large Nord glanced at him. "Got that mission done?"

"Yeah" answered the man.

"Nice work. I'll pay you later."

The brother of Vilkas sniffed the air. "You drunk?"

"Yep."

"Good. Sober is a bad thing."

The man unhooked a flash from his belt without even looking up. He poured the fiery liquid into his mouth and sighed. "Good old Argonian liquor. Never fails."

He looked over at the two fighting female Companions and smiled. "Ah, how I enjoy when they fight."

Farkas nodded.

The man grinned. "Dude. Aela. One word: Bedonkadonk."

The warrior took a gulp of mead. "Amen to that."

They smashed containers and kept watching the fight.

Soon the inevitable happened. Aela literally jumped and smashed her knee into Njada's jaw. The spunky female collapsed on the floor, instantly unconscious.

The huntress looked down at her and spat. "Bitch" she muttered wiping the blood from her mouth.

The man raised his drink. "Damn impressive."

She sat beside him and took his flask. Pouring twice as much as he did earlier, she swallowed it without a breath.

"Well Talos let me have some" complained the man snatching it back.

"You already did, judging by your breath."

"I am a drinker. It's what I do."

She punched his shoulder. "It's a wonder you even kill anything with all you drink."

"It keeps me focused."

"More like lazy."

He threw out his arms. "Well I am here aren't I? That means I did the job."

"Maybe."

He sighed. "You have no faith in me."

"That is correct."

He took another gulp. "Where's Vilkas?"

Farkas answered that one. "He's out somewhere. Said he found a shard of Wuuthard."

"Lucky bastard" muttered the man. "I'm out there fetching criminals and he's finding artifacts. Goddamn my luck."

The large warrior spread his arms. "Hey, I'm here too. The only ones he was able to take were Skjor and Athis."

"Damn them all" murmured Aela.

The man raised his drink. "To lucky bastards."

They smashed glasses, with the huntress's being a recent addition to her hand. She then swallowed two mouthfuls of mead and stood. "I have things to do."

The man nodded. "Agreed. I need to visit my pillow."

"I'm sure it's missing you" muttered Farkas.

"Well it does thank you very much" stated the man. "Now good day."

He walked off and Aela declared, "Odei, stop!"

He turned. "What?"

She lifted his cloak. "You left this."

She tossed it and he caught it semi-difficultly. "Thank you."

**Yep, he's a Companion. Awesome one too.**


	2. Chapter 2

**This guy is a personal favorite of mine. He's drunk, he's friendly, and he's kinda cool. **

Odei woke up with a headache, as he expected. But a quick look to his left and he recovered.

He smiled and kissed the cheek of his sleeping mate. "Morning."

She returned it tenderly. "You're so warm."

"I usually am."

The man heard someone's footsteps and he quickly covered Ria. "Stay quiet" he warned before turning out from the wall.

Vilkas walked over to the head of his bed and looked at him. "You up?"

"Does it look like it?" replied Odei.

"No need to be smart about it. We have something for you to do."

"We as in?"

"Me and Kodlak."

Odei nodded. "Let me get dressed."

The elder Nord looked at him. "Your hair is sweaty."

"I had a bad dream."

"You don't dream."

"Well, it was rather hot in here."

Vilkas gave a knowing smile. "Of course it was. Meet me in Kodlak's quarters."

He turned and began walking out of the room.

"Tell Ria 'good morning' for me" he said before he was completely gone.

The female threw off the blanket. "He always knows somehow."

"Yeah. He's smart."

The male turned to her and gave her a quick kiss. "Gotta go. Hope you do something cool."

"Well you're lucky" she said grabbing her shirt. "Kodlak always has interesting stuff for you to do."

"I can't help it that I'm that awesome."

She punched him in the gut. "You go get em tiger."

"I think you mean wolf."

Ria shook her head. "You always want the last word."

He kissed her forehead. "I'll let you have this one. Since I'm too hung-over for anymore."

"Good day then Odei."

* * *

"So I have to go back to Iceberg Citadel?"

Kodlak nodded. "It is very important that you do."

"But we've already confirmed that there isn't a shard of Wuuthard" stated Vilkas. "I was there alongside Odei after all."

"I know this Vilkas. But it appears someone did find one. Judging by the complaints given by the residents of Winterhold, it's the Silver Hand. Without a doubt. Every weapon was silver, even the arrows."

"Well, that doesn't mean they have a chunk of Wuuthard" reasoned Odei.

"That is correct, but we have spies to confirm it."

"We are reduced to spies now?" spat Vilkas.

Kodlak gave him a glare. "To finally reclaim the artifact of Ysgramor? Yes, anything is worth it."

The warrior bowed his head. "Apologies."

"None are needed Vilkas. Now Odei, you can bring two Companions with you. Except Vilkas and Skjor, they have something else to do."

"Roger" said Odei standing. "Good day to both of you."

He exited the chambers and began twirling his axes. He tended to do this when he was walking.

"Watch where you swing that brother" spoke a voice.

Odei turned and noted Farkas was next to him. "Farkas. Good, I wanted to see you."

The large Nord was currently putting on his armor, adjusting the straps and such. "No problem. What do ya want?"

"I need your help in going to Iceberg Citadel."

"Weren't you already there?"

"Yeah, but now the Silver Hand's camped out there."

The warrior stopped. "Just let me get my sword."

"And I hope you weren't thinking of leaving me behind" stated Aela. Like usual, she was carrying her bow.

"Of course not" stated Odei turning around. "I would never dream of leaving behind my most valued member."

She punched him in the shoulder. "Just shut up."

"Fine by me. I hate talking anyway."

They left Jorrvaskr promptly, dressed in full travel gear. Odei was leading them, mainly since he knew the quickest way.

"I've been having a lot of restless nights" he spoke out loud.

"The beast blood will do that to you" stated Aela. "It is the price that comes with such power. I personally couldn't care too much. I only need rest for my body at this point."

"Eh, I don't need my mind too terribly" said Farkas honestly. "I just need it enough to not make me look like an ass in front of you all."

The huntress punched him. "You already look like an ass."

"Damn."

Odei smiled. He loved spending time with his comrades. They were the most interesting people he knew.

It had been a relatively simple reason why he had joined the Companions: boredom. A long time ago, he figured out that being a guard was the damn most boring thing he ever experienced. So he signed up for to see if they'd let him in.

The first time he was denied. Said he was too reckless and wild. He tried again, this time coming in completely sober. He was accepted on the spot.

"What are we going to expect at this Iceberg Citadel?" asked Farkas.

"Well, a lot of traps. Being a Nordic ruin, there are very devious. But the main thing is Draugr. I killed a lot last time, but they're known to come back."

"Damn undead. I hate them all."

"You hate a lot of things Farkas" noted Aela. "Is there anything you don't hate?"

"You know what I don't hate? I don't hate liquor."

Odei smashed his knuckles into the warrior. "I completely agree."

The archer rolled her eyes. These two were complete brutes.


	3. Chapter 3

**To Cyrus: While I see the point you are making with Aela, she is only friendly to him since they are good friends. Same with Farkas and Vilkas. Odei is the kinda guy you make friends with and let down your guard.**

**PS: I can't do a steamy, animal-like sex scene with Odei and Ria since I only write lemon style and that's sorta taboo on Fanfiction. Just ask half the dudes writing anime stories. It will be hinted on multiple times though. Assure me, nothing is taboo with Odei.**

"So this is the citadel?" inquired the huntress

"Yep" replied the berserker.

"Kinda boring."

"Same thing I thought."

The three had arrived at the Iceberg Citadel, somewhere on the coast of Solitude. It was fairly obvious, having a large set of pillars out front and the typical entrance of a Nordic ruin.

"Any traps at the door?" asked Aela.

"Nope" replied Odei. "Just a locked door."

He went up to it and raised his leg. Smashing it into the door, he punched clean through the lock.

"I didn't actually think that would work" he admitted walking inside.

The interior was actually very grand in style. It was a huge atrium of some sort, with a large glass floor which only blackness underneath. At the edges of the room were where the stone began, and also the coffins. They were all opened and crushed into pieces.

"Now I remember a trap here" stated Odei stroking his beard. "Now what was it?"

He walked onto the glass and tapped his foot. "I can't quite remember."

"Well hurry it up" said Farkas joining him. "I'm getting old here."

Then the axman snapped his fingers. "Ah! I remember now."

He looked at his feet. "We're standing on it."

At this, the glass released itself, dropping the two Companions into the hole.

Odei landed and bounced, groaning when he finally settled. He felt something shatter beneath him and release a liquid all over his pants.

"Damn it that's my flask."

He noted the crushed bottle with sorrow. "I'm so sorry. I'll give you a proper burial when we get back."

'You are a dumbass" stated Farkas getting up. "Who forgets about a hole in a floor?"

"Not my problem. Hey, where's Aela?"

"Up here" she answered looking over the edge. "Just hang on. I'll get a rope."

Odei nodded. "See Farkas? It's not that bad. She'll be getting us out momentarily."

The warrior grunted and the berserker scoffed at him. "It's not that bad. There used to be this huge river running through here."

The warrior heard something odd, something that was persistent and unending.

Farkas turned around and yelled, "Holy Talos!"

Odei looked at where he was looking. "Hey, they brought it back."

The water slammed into them and knocked them clean off their feet. The berserker spat out the water and tried to determine where Farkas was. Since he was constantly being bombarded by the waves, he couldn't tell.

He then felt himself free-falling and smashing into a stone floor. He groaned and stood uneasily. The water was now flowing over him, completely spiking his nerves with its chillness.

"You…are a dumbass" stated Farkas shaking off the water from his helmet. "Who the hell forgets a river too?"

"I didn't actually forget. I just assumed it wasn't there since it wasn't."

"Well look at where your assuming got us. I swear when this is over I'm kicking your ass back to Whiterun."

"Don't be too sure" noted the berserker feeling his neck hair bristle. "I think we're not the only ones here."

Something leaped from the shadows, something not human. Its skin was marble and its eyes were glowing yellow. It had razor claws and long fangs that were dripping with blood.

"Damn vampires!" shouted Odei raising his axes. He spun and caught the thing in the jaw.

It leaped back and raised a spell.

The berserker grasped at his neck as a long trail of magicka tightened around his throat. He tried to break free from the grip, but to no avail.

Then Farkas cut the vampire's arm clean off and plunged his sword into its chest.

Odei dropped to the ground for the second time today and shook off the daze. "Well we either got vampires or Silver Hand."

"I've seen some work together" added Farkas.

"Then we might be doubly screwed."

The warrior wiped his blade. "Perhaps. We do have surprise."

"Yeah, we can catch them with their pants down and make their day miserable."

"Sounds like fun" said Farkas. "Now how do we get out of here?"

"Well if my memory is feeling generous, the way out is that way."

They walked over to a large door and opened it. Inside was a large set of stairs leading upwards.

"Be careful" advised Odei. "These guys are very dangerous."

"I hope Aela's OK."

"Her? Please. I feel bad for the Silver Hand."

* * *

Aela shook her head walking through the hallway. What idiots. Got caught in a stupid trap like animals. Thankfully her quick reflexes and extreme caution prevented her capture.

"I hope they're alive" she said honestly. "But I must get the chunk of Wuuthard at all costs. Even if I have to leave them."

She entered a small room and noted the mats on the floor. The Silver Hand was definitely here. And judging by the carcasses around the room, so where vampires.

"This is not a coincidence" she thought to herself. "There's something here that both of them want."

She opened a door and noted that a small committee was assembled before her. They were seated in the middle of the room and talking over a feast. Many wore the typical armor of the Silver Hand alongside their signature swords. A few however were dressed in robes. Vampires.

Aela crouched down. They hadn't seen her yet, so she might have a chance.

She studied the room. There wasn't anything she could use to her advantage, except…

She thought about it. It was brilliant and daring.

* * *

Falius was offended by the individual in front of him. This damn vampire was demanding one of their treasures they had found in the citadel for no apparent reason.

"I ain't gonna give anything to you without pay" he stated again. "Now if you want to work on a price, let's talk."

The vampire lord Galarosh snarled. He was growing very tired of this mortal's interference in his plans.

"Perhaps I can pay you in silver? You have a fetish for it apparently."

The other vampires laughed, while the Silver Hand members snarled. Falius himself looked like he had been smacked in the face.

"Fuck you. We're keeping the artifact, end of story. And in case you haven't noticed, you're outnumbered."

It was true. For every one vampire, there was at least four Silver Hand. To be fair, each vampire was worth at least two.

Galarosh chuckled. "Yes, and that means we get more bodies to feast on at the end, if you don't hand over the artifact. Now I have offered you five thousand gold for it, and you still refuse to hand it over. Now I will increase the offer to eight thousand. That is my final offer. Accept the trade or I WILL EAT YOU MYSELF!"

He smashed his fist into the table and broke a chunk of it off. The Silver Hand weren't even intimidated. Falius had cracked one in half with a kick once.

"How about this deal?" began the Silver Hand chieftain. "How about, we cut you all up into little pieces and feed you to the hounds? I think that's about the best I can give you."

Galarosh bared his teeth. "I was hoping for that."

Then a flaming, fifty pound chandelier smashed into the table.

It burst and spewed the oil of the candles all over those seated. This, combined with the fire from the candles, made the entire room ablaze.

Once the fires died down and the screams had stopped, Aela jumped down from the ceiling and took a key from the chieftain.

"Thank you chief" she muttered walking to the nearest door.

**Ah, Aela. What a badass bitch.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Now to clarify Odei a little bit: he's a absolute drunk. He has a regular buzz on him 24/7. However, he is very capable of free thought due to his tolerance. It's what happens after you get used to being drunk. He's a regular old berserking Scottish man (or Nordic in this case).**

Farkas whistled as he entered the large cavern. It was full of a large lagoon that shimmered from a hole in the ceiling. The stones at the bottom were white and shone in the sunlight. The moss at the edges was actually a compliment to the entire feel of the place. The waterfall at the end was just overkill.

"Well, I am impressed" muttered the warrior. He didn't normally appreciate pretty sights, but this one was worth it.

"Eh, it ain't so impressive the second time" muttered the berserker.

They stopped and crouched in the shadows when they heard something splash in the lake. It sure as hell wasn't a water drop, since it sounded like a goddamn meteor fell.

Something emerged from the water surface, something that was definitely not a vampire. Or a Silver Hand. Or anything possibly close to the human race and all its subcategories.

The thing was a magnificent beast that was slick with water. Its scales were a deep shade of green that shone brightly from the water. Its head was serpentine so much that it didn't appear to have a lower jaw. Its eyes were massive slits in its head that shone orange against the skin. Its fangs were so long that it stuck out of its closed mouth. It looked like a giant water serpent.

"Well fuck" muttered Odei.

The serpentyawned deeply and nestled its head on a giant rock covered in moss. Releasing a final sigh, it closed its eyes.

"Maybe we aren't so screwed" murmured Farkas.

The berserker nodded. "Now, just stay low and slow. I'll lead."

The drunk took a cautious step forward and began to move around the serpent. It didn't seem to notice him, so he figured that whatever he was doing was good.

Being a person who drank a lot, he had mastered the art of walking while drunk. Not to mention eating, talking, fighting, and fucking while drunk. He was so skilled in these that he could pass as a sober man anytime he needed to.

Farkas on the other hand, was practically drunk whenever he tried to sneak anyway. It was similar to an elephant trying to walk on a board.

Odei tried to figure out the serpent while he moved. It looked like a dragon of sorts. It had wings and a tail, which was obvious since it was above the water. However, it was far more curved and serpentine than any dragon he had ever seen.

Suddenly the thing opened its eyes and stared directly at him. He froze.

The dragon remained eye contact for several seconds, then blinked twice.

Flaring its wings, it burst into the sky, flying clean through the hole in the ceiling.

"Well that was unexpected" said Farkas.

"Yeah. Even my drunk mind couldn't predict that."

They both got back to their normal walking pace and the drunk pointed to a door. "Well, that's the way out."

"Wasn't that the last door?"

"No. I said that was a door. This door actually goes into the ruin of sorts."

"Of sorts?"

"Well this ruin is actually very well constructed. I'd imagine that at least half of this place is still capable of being explored."

Farkas thought about it. "You sure Vilkas and you explored the entire thing?"

"Uh, I warrant not since the Silver Hand have kinda camped out in here."

They opened the door and came into a large banquet hall. It probably served as a place to serve mead and game. Well, now it served different things. Like blood and human beings.

"Well shit. I think we found where the vampires hang out" muttered Odei.

Farkas kicked a skull out of his path. He had seen worse in his lifetime. Then he looked up to the ceiling and nearly choked.

Hanging from the ceiling were large hooks. On each hook was a body. Some of them were whole carcasses of flesh, while others had clearly been gnawed upon. And some of them were still moving.

"Holy fuck" said both of them.

A drop of gore landed on Farkas's forehead and he vomited violently. Wiping his mouth, he gasped for air.

"We need to get out of here. This air is killing me."

Odei nodded.

They quickly shuffled to the next door and came to a long hallway. Thankfully, there were only bones in this one.

"Let's go" said Farkas happy to be out of that room.

A knife appeared at his throat and a voice spoke, "I agree."

The same happened to Odei and he scoffed. "Shit. Silver Hand."

The man behind Farkas smiled. "Name's Forius bitch. Commander of the Silver Hand. If my guess is right, you twin shits are Companions."

"Yeah, what's it to you?" asked Farkas.

"Oh, nothing. Except we execute you sons of bitches like the dogs you are. Let's go on a little trip."

Forius calmly slapped some irons onto their wrists and prodded their backs. "Start walking."

They began to walk farther down the hall, being escorted by the two. The Companions quickly noticed that something was wrong with them. The Silver Hand were burned extremely bad. Forius had a large chunk of his face burned black and one arm covered in soot. The other was lacking half of his face's skin and was missing his other hand.

"What happened to you all? Did Akatosh strike you assholes down?" asked Farkas.

The other man etched his knife into the Companion's jaw, drawing a long line into it. "Shut your goddamn trap. You seem like too much of a dumbass to understand religion."

"I'll let you know, that I pray at a shrine weekly."

"Really? Let me guess: Hircine?"

"How did you know?"

Forius snarled. "Shut the fuck up. I need these assholes alive."

They walked into a large room and stopped. In front of them was a door that looked like it had been sealed for years. Or centuries.

"I want you two to open this door. Immediately."

Farkas glanced at him. "Open it? An ancient Nordic door? These things are tighter than your sister's hole. It can't be opened."

Forius calmly grabbed his knife and etched a long line across Farkas's forehead. He ended it with a flick and snarled in his face. "Now, open this door. Or I'll cut your damn cock next."

"Well let's at least try something" muttered Odei. "I am fairly certain he'll do the same to me."

They looked at the lock and raised an eyebrow. It wasn't supposed to be opened with any sort of key. It has completely flat. Etched into it were symbols of some sort.

"Uh, I don't think this is Nordic" muttered Farkas.

"What you say bitch? This door is round. Nord doors are round. So what the fuck you saying, this door ain't Nordic?"

Farkas pointed his head at the symbols. "These ain't Nordic. I know. We got chunks of Wuuthard for bloody sake."

Odei was mesmerized by the symbols. It was as if he knew what each one meant before looking at them. He walked closer to the door. One of them, the one at the top of the door, began to glow.

"Krii" muttered the Nord berserker.

The door shuddered and began to open.

Forius smiled. "Ha! So someone here got an idea. Let's keep going."

Then an arrow appeared in his throat.

He gasped and tried to clutch the bloody missile. Then a second one appeared in the back of his head.

The other Silver Hand turned and got nailed in the eye. They collapsed, bleeding violently.

Farkas chuckled. "Aela? Would you mind getting these irons off me?"

Odei burst into laughter as soon as he said it. "That's what she said!" he yelled loudly.

The huntress slapped him. "Grow up."

"I'm already going up sweetheart" he muttered.

She smacked him again. "Then grow down if that's what you mean."

"Ah, damn. Ah well, orders are orders."


	5. Chapter 5

**Now if you caught onto one of the things in Chapter 4, you may have noticed I used the title vampire lord for a certain person. The reason was that in this non-canon universe, vampire lords are far more common. Keeps things a little interesting. Don't be confused though. All of them are loyal to Harkon, since he is the only one who can give it.**

They walked down the corridor, keeping an eye out for anything. While this was a typical corridor with absolutely no cryptic qualities. This meant no wrapped corpses or burial urns.

"Well this is a pleasant surprise" muttered Odei. "Finally, no damn undead assholes trying to kill me. I could drink for this occasion."

"I'm wondering something" inquired Aela. "Did you ever get through here?"

"Nope. I don't even remember that damn door."

They stopped when they turned a corner and came to a room. It was a huge atrium style of room, so immense that the ceiling was completely blocked from view. The floor was flat until it hit a set of stairs that covered half of the room. At the top of those stairs was a large table. And on that table was a chunk of Wuuthard.

"Well alright" muttered Farkas. "Time to get going."

"Not exactly" spoke a voice from behind them.

They turned and gasped at the sight.

The vampire lord known as Galarosh smiled back at them. Despite the fact that he could barely smile.

His skin was completely melted, revealing muscles and occasionally bones in his face and arms. His hair was long since solidified into something similar to bacon. But that was not the most astonishing part.

There were things flying around him like moths. They were the color of ash and appeared to be small chunks of paper. They pressed into his flesh and began to repair the damage. Pretty soon he at least looked human.

Galarosh laughed. "It is good to see you. Now I think one of you tried to kill me. And since I'm not in the mood for guessing, I think I'll just kill all of you."

He then opened his palms and released a swarm of locusts from his coat. The Companions yelled in surprise and sprinted to cover.

"How the hell did he survive?" asked Farkas. He had already been told how Aela had killed him, so he needed no explanation.

"I don't know!" yelled Aela.

"Well I'll use my secret tonic on him" muttered Odei.

He pulled out a small silver bottle and took a small sip. He then lit his hand with a fire spell and got out from behind his cover.

He spat violently and let the liquid pour over his flame.

Instantly his saliva burst violently and flowed towards Galarosh.

The vampire calmly raised an arm and caught the incoming fire storm. Clenching his fist, he forced it back towards Odei.

It slammed into the berserker and knocked him off his feet. Blasting him into a wall and onto the ground.

Odei felt his eyes roll in his head and his brains rattle. He felt like he was a garnish in a mixed cocktail. Or something.

He looked up and noticed something on the ceiling. It was the dragon from before, the jade one.

It looked at him with curious eyes, like it was observing him. It licked its lips and he gulped.

"Shit" he muttered fully prepared to get eaten.

The dragon began to crawl down the wall and got within a foot of his face. It opened its mouth and let him have a great view of his mouth. Wrapped by its tongue was some sort of green stone.

Suddenly the beast crushed it and the stone emitted a funny purple color. Then the dragon let out a long breath and blasted Odei with the gas. It smelled like ash and sugar.

"Dovahkiin" whispered the dragon.

Then it flew upwards and disappeared into the shadows.

Odei felt really weird. It was similar to the time he had a dirty drink. Minus the sudden erection.

He looked at his hands. He was glowing a golden color like he was on fire. His eyes were burning and he felt electricity in his veins.

The feeling then stopped and he looked up. He could see his comrades fighting the vampire lord with little avail.

Odei stood and drew his twin axes. He somehow felt his body having twice the normal strength, since his weapons no longer felt that heavy.

He then got an idea. He didn't argue where he got it from, so he decided to just use it anyway.

"Krii!" he yelled as loud as he could.

Purple flames emitted from his mouth and wrapped around Galarosh. He flinched and looked in disgust at himself.

"Ugh, it smells like rat urine and dirt" noted the vampire looking in disgust at his clothes.

Then Odei appeared, swinging wildly.

"Raaagh!" cried the berserker extremely infuriated. He usually got that way when he drank his tonic.

Galarosh noted this while dodging his attacks. This time it took effort. The Nord swung faster than he could've ever guessed.

"Impressive" noted the vampire jumping back calmly. "But let's see how well this can go."

Galarosh raised his hand and caught one of the ax blades. Twisting his wrist, he snapped it clean off.

Odei didn't so much as blink. Raising the other axe, he sliced clean through the vampire's arm.

Galarosh screamed in pain and Odei crushed his knee with his foot. Raising his axe as high as it could go, he looked down at the vampire.

"Die!" he exclaimed bring it down on the vampire's head. It split like an egg and sent brain matter all over Odei.

The Nord was far from finished. The alcohol in his blood was making him hard to stop.

He grabbed the vampire and ripped off his arms. Grasping his hair, he placed a second hand on the vampire's shoulder.

He ripped off Galarosh's head and threw it as far as he could. Roaring into the sky, he let the anger wash over him.

"Oh man this is awesome!" he said. While he understood that his booze had this effect on him, he never felt this good.

"You okay?" asked Aela nervously. She had seen him use his drinks before, but this was unusual.

Instead of speaking, Odei grabbed her and pulled her taut to his chest. Slamming his lips into hers, he forced his tongue into her mouth.

Tossing her off him, he gave her a large grin. "Aw shit yeah I feel good! I think I could do anything!"

Farkas glanced over at Aela. She was standing completely stunned by the berserker's actions, her mouth agape.

"Least he's got spunk" muttered the warrior.

The huntress turned to Odei and calmly raised her hand. Bring a sort of god-like force into it, she smacked him hard enough to break bones. Thankfully, it only knocked him on his ass.

He landed and shook his head. He was not completely stable now, but at least he wasn't spinning. Well, it was spinning slower.

"Calm down" ordered Aela. "We need you sober."

Odei nodded. "Course. Sorry about that. Mission first, then drinks."

He got up and managed to walk without losing his balance too much. "So, uh, let's go before I vomit."

Farkas nodded and went up the flight of stairs. Reaching the table, he took the chunk of Wuuthard.

Suddenly he heard a wet smacking sound behind him. He turned and saw that Odei was puking his guts out all over the floor.

"Looks like we're carrying you then."

**Heh heh, don't be too mad at Odei. He can't control his sexual drives when drunk. At least not when he's that drunk.**


	6. Chapter 6

**I decided to publish two chapters at a time for convenience and so this story can move a little faster. **

Odei swung his tankard high in Jorrvaskr, laughing as he did so. The other Companions there, including Kodlak and Vilkas laughed alongside him.

"And there we were" he said resuming his normal voice, "we were in the bottom of this hole. Farkas was fairly ticked off, especially since he nearly broke his ass-bone."

"Damn right!" shouted out Farkas from the end of the hall. Everyone got a chuckle in, but Odei took the stage again.

"Now I myself was mourning the loss of a liquor bottle that had seen me through multiple dungeons. You may remember it as the one I used to beat a Silver Hand chieftain to death once. Now it was in shards on the floor. I was fairly sad, but the pain in my lower back made it difficult to concentrate. After seeing that the beautiful Aela was still good, we began to plan the next step of our operation: getting out of our first misstep. Now Farkas was being a bitch, like usual, and complaining about my forgetfulness."

"How in Oblivion did you forget a hole in the floor?!" yelled Farkas, echoing his words from before.

"I was drunk three times between the first time and this time!" explained Odei. "Now let me finish. Being the optimistic man, I told him how there used to be a river of sorts running through here."

He looked at all of them and said, "So guess what comes charging around the corner?"

He then proceeded to dump his tankard all over the table, emitting a waterfall.

They all laughed. They had already been told the story before, and it was still funny.

"Oh, your adventures remind me of the old days" said Kodlak pouring himself another mug. "I remember when I did similar things with my comrades. But those days are gone. The young will take my place, as it has been written."

"Well old man, you aren't exactly that old" encouraged Vilkas who had a pretty girl under his arm. "I mean, you still are smarter than any of us. We need your guidance."

"For the moment" clarified Kodlak. "But I must retire. I hear Odei's mother calling me from my bedchambers."

They all laughed, Odei himself laughing the hardest. "I have no doubts Kodlak! Have fun!"

The others laughed even louder at this. The berserker normally had a smart response.

"Ah, I think I may retire to my room" said Farkas. He nuzzled the neck of the pretty girl next to him, grinning like a little kid.

Ever since they had celebrations at Jorrvaskr (like, two centuries ago), they had invited single women to stimulate an actual mead hall. That meant pretty much every Companion had a sleeping mate at the time. Since Njada and Aela were too tough for the general population, men were not invited.

Odei didn't have to worry about flirting and conversing, one of the few things he did worse when drunk, because he had Ria. They had been going steady for two months, and he had been debating about engaging. But since they were both so young, he held off. However, he still had an amulet of Mara in his bottom drawer.

"Ha! I hope you have fun Farkas! Try not to break your bed like last time!" yelled Odei.

The warrior grinned. "Heh, still remember that eh? What fun that was."

The woman tugged his arm and he turned. "Right, let's get going."

Vilkas shook his head. "Silly boy. Only managed to snag one."

He held out his other arm and a lady slid under it.

"Double kill" muttered the legionary.

Odei chuckled. Vilkas was a fairly good womanizer when drunk. Otherwise he was a dick. A smart one that could pop a wisecrack, but still a dick.

He turned to Ria, who gave him a wink.

"Yeah, I think I'm gonna go to bed" he said standing up.

"With who?" asked Vilkas.

"I think we all know the answer" replied Aela.

They all laughed, except Ria who blushed beet red.

Odei draped an arm around her and pulled her close to his chest. "Ah, you all suck. Good night."

* * *

Skjor sighed, standing in the shadows of Jorrvaskr. He despised partying, especially since he felt nothing towards people. That made him a general asshole, he would admit, but a great warrior.

"Any reason you are hanging out here?" asked Kodlak joining him.

The renegade sighed. "I despise people. I really do."

The elder nodded. "I know. I understand. The wolf blood I gave to you is rather potent. You can only kill."

"I don't regret it" stated Skjor quickly.

"I wish you did. The desire to kill should come from within, not something from the outside."

The renegade scoffed. "I wish to get back out there. But Vilkas is not going to be okay until at least tomorrow evening, judging by how much he's drinking."

"You can go on your own" said Kodlak.

Skjor looked at him surprised. "What? What about those rules you placed?"

"We are losing the war against the Silver Hand" murmured the elder saddened. "If we don't take drastic action, we won't win. I am willing to let you go on assassinations against the leaders of the Silver Hand."

"Just give me their names and locations" replied the renegade hiding his excitement.

Kodlak handed him a small piece of paper. It had a name and a location on it. Nothing else.

"Good luck" whispered the elder.

"I am so glad I get to go alone" muttered Skjor.

**Yeah, Skjor has a sociopathic nature. You kinda get that vibe from him anyway.**


	7. Chapter 7

Skjor sprinted across the tundra, his breath trailing behind him. He was up near Morthal, sprinted across the mountain. He was tempted to go into his beast form, but he decided to save it until the fight. This Silver Hand member was apparently strong, indicated by the number of people he had asked.

"I'm gonna kill the living crap out of him" he muttered leaping to a chunk of rock to another.

He reached the cave he was looking for and stopped. It was submerged in water and was only visible by the ceiling edge.

"Gonna go for a swim" he murmured shedding his backpack and tossing it into the ice chunk.

He dove into the water, only slightly chilled by the temperature. His wolf blood kept him incredibly warm, like an oven. He couldn't freeze if he kept moving.

He swam into the cavern, seeing a few torches above the water. He aimed upwards and burst from the water surface.

He was apparently inside a small grotto, since it didn't have a pier of any kind. That meant that there was probably another entrance.

"Good, back entrance" he muttered climbing out of the water.

He noticed a set of wooden stairs and began to slowly crawl upwards. Unlike most Lycanthropes, he was amazingly good at stealth. Not while he was in beast form granted, but it did make the surprise attack more effective.

He reached a doorway and stepped into a large cavern. It had a massive ceiling and was nearly thirty feet across.

He noticed the door at the other side, so he began sneaking across to the other side.

Something fell down and he stopped. He turned cautiously to his original point of entrance.

It was completely shut off, like someone had dropped a gate on it.

"Shit" he muttered moving closer to the other door, now his only exit.

The gate dropped on the other door and he swore. Now he was trapped in a cavern.

"Hello" said a voice from behind him.

Skjor leaped into the center of the room and drew his sword. Turning back to the voice, he stopped.

A face was etched into the stone, like it was part of it. It blinked and talked, but it wasn't made of skin.

The face shifted forward and revealed a head. Then the body burst from the wall and collapsed.

"A technique that blends you into a wall?" murmured Skjor. "Who am I dealing with?"

The man stood tall and smiled at him. His skin was a pale grey and his hair was a deep black. He wore a set of leather armor that draped downwards. He looked like some sort of royal bandit, if such a thing was possible.

"So I finally meet a Companion" said the man blankly.

He looked around. "Where's your teammate? I thought wolves always traveled in packs."

"Some wolves like to go alone" countered Skjor.

The man looked at him. "Suits me just fine."

Skjor heard something behind him and turned.

There were ten different Silver Hand members behind him, all of them with various weapons.

"Shit" he muttered. "I got ten assholes on one side, and one big douchebag on the other."

He turned. The man had disappeared completely. "And now he's not here. Goody."

He whirled around and threw his sword. It sank into a guy's chest and he collapsed spitting blood. This sight sent Skjor over the edge and he grasped his temples.

"Let's get wild" he whispered letting his beast take over.

He bent forward and felt hair burst from his spine and arms. His hands expanded into claws and his feet burst from his shoes. Then his face morphed and he roared in pain. It usually hurt, even after dozens of transformations.

When it was finished, he stood taller than all of the Silver Hand before him.

He reared his head back and screamed at the sky.

They all fled, overcome with fear. He had this effect on prey.

He sprinted at them, keeping low to the ground. Reaching two, he smashed them together into a bloody mess.

Spinning, he caught a third guy in the head, instantly decapitating him. Leaping onto the corpse, he ripped open the ribcage and drew out the intestines.

Looking up, he noticed that the others were coming back. He still had six to deal with.

Grabbing the body, he threw it at them. It landed on one of them and he plunged his claw through both of them like a spear. Whipping his hand out, he bifurcated the eighth.

He turned and saw that the last too were being smart. They had bows out and were shooting at him,

One arrow smashed into his chest and he growled. Smart prey.

He sprinted at them and gripped one in his teeth. Back-flipping, he snapped every bones in its body by smashing him into the ground.

Turning to the final one, he simply reached over and bit off his skull. Spitting out the skull, he smiled to himself.

"Pathetic" he thought through the blood haze.

Suddenly something poked through his rib cage. It looked like a spear.

He gasped and stared down at the thing that had punched through his chest. It had nicked the heart, judging by the amount of blood on it.

Skjor turned and lashed a claw across the assailant. The Silver Hand man snapped and fell to the ground.

The Lycanthrope gasped and pulled out the spear. This was the end. He couldn't survive this kind of injury.

He turned and saw that the man from before was back. He still had that smile, but now had twenty new Silver Hand men beside him.

"Take him out" he ordered calmly. "He's at death's door."

Skjor roared and stormed off to them.

The man calmly pulled out a sword and threw it at him.

The Lycanthrope took it to the shoulder and collapsed to his knees. He felt himself begin to ebb away and looked up to his assailant.

The man walked over to Skjor, that frustrating blank look on his face. He looked down at him, a second sword in hand.

"I must admit, your kind is astonishing in combat" stated the man calmly. "But I have been ordered to extinguish you. I am not sorry for doing so."

He raised the sword high, preparing for the final blow.

Skjor closed his eyes and breathed. _"This is it."_

The man decapitated him, letting his wolf head drop to the floor. Turning without a word, he walked off into the cave.


	8. Chapter 8

Odei looked at the table, his drink in hand. He had laid waste to Ria last night, so she was still recovering in his bed. Because of this, he decided to get a decent buzz before she woke up.

"Ugh, why do I have to be so good at what I do?" he muttered staring into the tankard.

Farkas sat down next to him, another drink in hand. Unlike Odei, he smelled completely drunk.

"Why you drinking so early?" asked the berserker.

"Depression" replied the warrior.

"Did that chick make fun of your dick?"

Farkas snarled. "No dumbass. Didn't you hear?"

"Uh, no. What did I not hear?"

"Skjor died."

Odei stopped dead. He never really liked the guy, but he was the one who gave him the beast blood. He personally offered his own blood to him. That made him partially related to him.

"Bull shit. He couldn't have died."

Farkas shook his head. "No. He was sent on a solo assignment and murdered. They had anticipated him. There wasn't even anything left to bury."

The warrior took a long gulp. "I'm drowning my sorrows. I recommend you do the same."

"Why?"

"Cause you either get so drunk you can't feel your toes, or you get mega-pissed off and kill anything around you."

Odei nodded. "Yeah. How the others reacting?"

"Vilkas is pounding away at some target dummies outside. Some of the others are doing the same as I. And Aela…"

He stopped and sighed. "She's crying."

The berserker stared at him stunned. "What? She's…crying?"

"Didn't you know? She and Skjor had a thing going on. That's why she was so much happier in the last couple of weeks."

Odei shook his head. "Damn. Damn all of those Silver Hand. How's Kodlak doing?"

"Kicking himself in the ass. He sent Skjor on that assignment, and he feels guiltly."

Odei shrugged. "Whatever. How he deals with it is irrelevant. I just want to get through my own suffering."

He glanced to his left and saw Ria approaching him. She still had the bruises from the night before (purposeful ones), but looked fine.

She sat beside him and kissed his cheek. He could literally feel her sadness.

"You heard too?" he guessed.

"Yeah. Shame. Skjor was a good man."

"Yeah, was" muttered Farkas opening up another bottle.

Odei looked at his lover. "Ignore him. He's just drowning his sorrow."

"I understand. I'm thinking about doing that too."

Suddenly Kodlak sat down next to him. His eyes were bloodshot and he had tear stains on his collar. His hair was messy and he looked like shit.

"Gentlemen" he stated before grabbing a drink.

"Hey Kodlak" replied Odei.

Farkas was too busy drinking to pay attention.

The Harbinger poured the drink down his throat and belched loudly.

"It's my fault" he muttered to himself.

"No it's not" assured Ria putting a hand on his arm.

"Yes it is. I sent him on that damn mission. He died under my orders."

"A few others have too" reminded Farkas.

"Yeah, but Skjor was a friend. It was personal."

The warrior grinned. "So let's make it personal."

They all looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"

Farkas put down his drink and turned to them. "These Silver Hand assholes took Skjor from us. I think its time we struck hard and deep."

"What do you propose?" asked Kodlak.

"A direct assault on their forts. All of them."

The Harbinger actually thought about it. "We know of five. How can we divide this up fairly?"

"I get one, so does Odei, Vilkas, Njada and Athis."

"No, I get one" stated Aela walking confidently into the room. She wore her leather armor, but she looked differently. She had long tear marks on her face, not bothering to wipe them away. "Athis is practically unconscious right now. I want my revenge for my dead lover."

"And you shall receive it" stated Kodlak. "I approve of your plan Farkas. I hope you all return with blood on your hands."

"And we will" said Farkas standing. "Come on, let's get going. I gotta pick up Vilkas and Njada."

Odei nodded and kissed Ria on the forehead. "Sorry my love, but I must go throw myself into more danger."

She smiled. "I know you'll be alright. You saved my life, so you can save your own."

He nodded. "Now, I must be off."

The five Companions met in front of Jorrvaskr. Vilkas had his full combat gear on, practically boiling with rage. His eyes were wild and the circles around his eyes were extremely large.

"I can't wait to kill something" he muttered gripping his sword. "Where are we going?"

Farkas pulled out five pieces of paper. Handing them around, he nodded to his fellows.

"I want this to go smooth, but I also want it to go really bad for the Silver Hand. If you think you're gonna die, take as many of those motherfuckers as you can before you die."

Njada nodded. "I'm gonna rip some skulls."

She had recently been appointed as replacement for Skjor, and been given the beast blood. Because of the short time they had, her initial transformation was suppressed. Kodlak himself administered it, saying that he had to replace Skjor's strength on the Council.

"Remember to fight well" stated Aela, her bow in hand. "I will do the same."

Odei threw back another drink. Unlike the others, his techniques revolved around intoxication.

"I can't wait to get my foot caught up some Silver Hand ass. I am so glad I said foot and not my hand" said the berserker.

The others didn't laugh. They had murder on their minds.

"Let's go collect some heads" muttered Odei walking down the stairs.

**Yep. Good old fashioned revenge.**


	9. Chapter 9

Odei stumbled to this Silver Hand base, literally stumbling. He was practically crawling he was so drunk.

"Ugh, maybe I drank a little too much" he muttered smacking himself in the face. Then he got angry at himself for doing that.

"You want a piece of me bitch?" he said to a nearby river. Then he realized he was talking to his reflection.

"You know what, you cool, you cool" he stated to his own reflection. "You like this shirt? Yeah, nice shirt. I like it too. We wearing the same one you know. Kinda weird. Hey, let's say you and me pick up some twins. Twins draw twins and shit like that."

He stopped. "I am really drunk right now."

He shrugged. "Well, I can admit I'm drunk, so I'm at least part sober. I probably should stop."

He paused and thought about it. "Wait, I'm drunk! I shouldn't listen to my own logic!"

He opened up his ninth bottle of liquor and began pumping it.

Ironically, drunkenness was his preferred method of offensive combat. Since he was so drunk he could see sounds, they couldn't predict what he would do. Come to think of it, he didn't even know what he would do.

"Man, that tree looking mighty nice. That's a nice tree. I like that tree."

He hugged the tree and smiled at it. "You hear that tree? I like you. You my friend. You a good tree, anyone tell you that? They should. You got a girl? Listen, I know this chick, Njada. Now she's a bit of a bitch at first, but she'll warm up to yeah. Heh heh, literally and grammatically, am I right?"

He looked towards the fort he had to attack. "Listen tree, I gotta get moving. Nice talking to you and all. You a good guy. I'd offer you a drink, but this is my last one of my first pack. So yeah. Bye now, take care of yourself."

He gave the tree a brotherly pat and stumbled towards the fort. He didn't even remember its name now, but who cared? He had directions. And directions got you many places. That's why they're called directions.

He reached the front gate and someone yelled, "That's far enough!"

Odei stopped. "Is here far enough?"

He took a step back. "Or here?"

He took three steps forward. "Or here? Is that enough?"

"You retarded or something?" yelled a guard on the gate.

"No, just drunk" admitted Odei.

"Well get the crap away from here before I shoot you."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa bro! We don't got to get nasty! I'm just here to kill all of you mofo's."

The guards laughed.

"Really? How are you going to do that, you slobbering drunk?"

Odei gave a malicious yet sloppy grin. "Like this."

He quickly stuffed his handkerchief down the bottle's neck and lit a small fire in his hand. Lighting the cloth, he threw the flaming concoction as hard as he could.

The bottle sailed towards the guards and exploded violently. They were bathed in flames and glass, causing them to scream and die.

"Heh, heh, my compliments to the brewer" muttered Odei pulling out another bottle. Doing a similar cocktail, he tossed it into the gate. It exploded inward and made a clear path through into the fort.

The Companion walked in like a conquering champion. Albeit one that was so drunk he could make three footprints in one step. In his own mind anyway.

"I don't remember this many of you" stated Odei pointing to the foes staring in wonder at him. "Especially you. I don't remember there being three of you. You damn ugly. Only the one on the left is the good looking one. He's got a nice goatee too. I jealous."

He pulled out a knife and threw it. It sank into the man's neck and he sputtered blood and collapsed.

"Now he don't got that goatee. Bummer. Oh well, don't matter. I got a sick ass beard. Well, more like stubble. I haven't shaved in a while, so yeah."

"Kill this son of a bitch!" yelled one who had an ugly scar on his face.

"Which one?" asked Odei generally confused.

"The raving drunk one!"

"Oh, me. Damn."

They all charged at him, wielding weapons that he really wasn't sure he knew. He decided to ignore that fact and just fight.

He pulled out his axes and spun clumsily.

His axe connected with a guy's neck and it literally exploded. Catching himself, he cut open a man's stomach and ripped out his intestines. Wrapping them around a third man's throat, he yanked down the second's innards, snapping the third guy's neck and killing the second one.

"Heh, double kill" he noted stumbling and dodging a swinging mace.

"This is for Skjor!" he yelled grabbing a guy's head and spinning it completely around. Gripping his body, he tossed it into a group of them, knocking them to the ground and probably killing them.

"Heh, idiots" muttered the drunk twirling his axes.

Someone fired an arrow at him and he took it to the shoulder. Calmly noting it, he pulled it out with his teeth. His skin began to form back into place automatically, like he didn't need to bring a healing spell to it.

"Wow, me drunk as fuck. Auto-healing and shit."

He turned to the guy with the ugly scar. "I killed your guys for you!"

"For me?"

"Yeah, they were idiots! Idiots die!"

"Like you!"

"Uh, I ain't dead yet. So your theory, it's bullshit."

"Hmm. Quite."

The Silver Hand leader pulled out a large crossbow. "Let's see how you fight this."

He aimed the weapon and fired.

The bolt sank into Odei's armor and burst into flames. And by the amount of alcohol Odei had consumed, he was grateful his mouth didn't set on fire.

"Well shit" he muttered throwing off his armor. He picked up one of his axes and spun it.

"Yeah, fuck you" said Odei throwing the axe.

It sank into the leader's chest and sent him toppling to the ground.

"Heh, you suck" taunted the Companion standing over his corpse. He poked his face. "You hear that? You suck. You suck ass. You are a novice. That's the right word right? Novice? Yeah, I think that's it."

He shrugged and picked up his axe. He stopped when he saw the keys at the man's belt.

"Oh sweet. I got some keys."

He picked them up and jangled them in front of his face.

"Heh, heh. I enjoy this far too much" he murmured pawing the keys.

He stopped. "Funny. I thought there'd be more. Silver Hand I mean. Plenty of keys. Wonder what they open? Maybe a diary. Oh, I'd love that! I'd read his diary and spill all his secrets to my friends and his friends! Wait, I killed all his friends. Then I'll just tell my friends then. Wahoo!"

He merrily stumbled/skipped to the door of the fort and punched it open with his foot. He did this with the fist he had tattooed into his foot, which he couldn't technically see with his boot on. He got this tattoo when he bet Farkas he could punch him with his foot. Needless to say, he got a few free drinks due to a technicality.

"Oh, shiny thing!" he said pressing his face onto a giant metal ball. It was like some sort of statue or something.

"It's so smooth and shiny! Like a…like a…smooth shiny thing! Yes, just like that!"

He swerved into the next room and saw that it was an atrium thing. It was obviously where the Silver Hand hung out. Or something. He really wasn't too sure. It had tables and chairs and walls. Some sort of room obviously.

"Oh, beer!" he noted with delight. "Wait, I got liquor! Fuck beer!"

He moved farther into the fort, noting the lack of Silver Hand. Obviously they had all been drawn when he busted down the gate.

"Wonder where I can use these keys! Well, that front door was probably one, but now its splinters so I can't unlock it! Oh well, let's see if there's something else I can open!"

He stopped when he saw a large door in front of him. It was locked, since it didn't open when he punched it. With his foot. Again.

"Yah! Locked door! Keys, don't fail me now!"

He fumbled them out of his pocket and fitted one into the slot. He twisted it and the door opened for him.

"Yah! I did something besides kill people and get drunk!"

He went into the room and noticed that it was some sort of master bedroom. It had a giant luxurious bed in the center of the room and a few personal items.

"Bed!" he yelled with delight. He threw himself on it and sank into the mattress.

"Hmm, this bed is awesome" he muttered into the bedding. "I could just lie here and fall asleep."

He stopped. "Wait, I got the keys! Why don't I do just that!?"

He spun himself so he could breathe and rested his head onto the pillows.

Odei settled himself and looked up. He forgot the damn door!

"Crap. I don't want to get up, but I want to shut the door. Hmm, decisions, decisions."

He picked up one of his axes and threw it at the door. It sank into the wood and slammed back into the frame.

"Perfect" he whispered lying back. "Now I can sleep. In another dude's bed. Who I murdered a short while ago. Hmm, I love Skyrim."

**And I love Skyrim too Odei. It's a wonderful place.**


	10. Chapter 10

Odei woke up fairly good. He was still in bed, he had his bag of coins, all internal and external organs, his hair, and his bottles of liquor.

"Wait, why don't I feel like shit?" he muttered. Then he stopped, completely stunned at his epiphany.

"I'm still drunk" he murmured rubbing his head. He sniffed his hand and nearly vomited. "Good Talos, I still smell like shit. Not my fault in my defense, but still."

He sniffed the air around him. Something was inside the fort that he didn't notice. And it wasn't him.

"I think their little buddies came back" he noted.

He rolled out of bed and slammed into the stone floor.

"Ow."

He got up and picked up one of his axes. Walking to the door, he pulled the second one out of the wood.

"Awesome, let's get the after party started."

He walked into the hallway, his buzz not so powerful now. He decided to drink after the fight just to make sure he wasn't caught in the act.

"Motherfuckers all in my stuff, trying to attack me in my sleep. Wait, this is their fort. I guess they have a reason."

He got into the atrium room from before and saw that some people were now there. It appeared that they were busy drinking away.

Several of them looked up at him and their eyes widened. He obviously wasn't expected. Then he got an idea. These guys were drunk.

"Top of the morning!" he yelled throwing his arms around two of them. "Man I just got back from plowing this girl in my room, and I think she's crazy or something."

"She probably is!" shouted another Silver Hand.

"I know right! There's a reason I don't have my belt anymore!"

They all laughed, seemingly ignoring the fact that he didn't belong. Alcohol did crazy shit to you.

"Man, some asshole came in here and killed everyone" stated one of the Silver Hand beside him.

"I saw that shit!" exclaimed Odei. "Freaking jerk bag am I right! Oh well, more drinks for us!"

They all laughed and clanked glasses together.

"Man I had too many drinks" stated Odei casually. "I'm gonna take a walk."

"Don't leave that girl for too long!" reminded one of the drunks.

"Ha, ha! Someone's paying attention!" yelled Odei. He walked out of the door and stepped out.

Getting into the courtyard, he noted that they were burning the corpses of the fallen Silver Hand.

"Good thing they were drunk off their asses" he muttered wiping his brow. "It wouldn't have worked otherwise."

An arrow shot past his ear and imbedded into the wall beside him.

"Shit I think they figured it out."

He began to sprint out of the fort, yelling loudly.

"I swear to Akatosh I didn't do it!" he exclaimed pulling out a bottle of liquor. Pouring it down his throat, he spat into the pile of burning corpses.

It exploded violently, blinding the Silver Hand that were shooting at him.

"Freedom!" he shouted running out of the fort. Then he saw that several were outside waiting for him.

"Sort of!" he finished running past them. He smashed one in the face with his bottle and lit a flame spell. Pressing it into his chest, he lit the man ablaze.

Grabbing the flaming man, he threw him into a group of his fellows. They too got on fire and screamed in agony.

"Yah! People dying! First kill of the morning!" he yelled skipping down the path. "I wonder what will happen after this?"

He paused. "Wait, I'm drunk! Everything happens when I'm drunk!"

He looked down the road and saw a few things.

"There's tons of things going on! There's a butterfly flying over a small flower, I see a raccoon humping a cat, and there's a dragon flying to me."

He paused. "Uh, I'm fairly certain that last one is real."

The dragon landed in front of him and he fell onto his ass. He shook the daze off and looked up at it.

"Wait, you were that thing from the Citadel" he remembered suddenly.

The dragon nodded. Its scales were a far lighter shade of green then he remembered and its eyes were a bit larger, but it was the same water-style serpent from before.

"It is good to see you Dovahkiin."

"Who's Dovahkiin?" he asked looking around. "You talking to someone beside me, or are you drunk too? Wait, can dragons get drunk?"

"First, you are Dovahkiin. Second, I am only talking to you. And third, dragons can't get drunk since we can't process alcohol."

"Shame. But wait, my name's Odei. Do I remind you of a Dovahkiin?"

The dragon sighed. "Someone give me patience."

"Is that a drink?"

The dragon smashed its head into the ground. "I'm going to kill myself at this rate."

"Yeah, I sympathize with that."

The dragon looked at Odei. "You are a Dovahkiin. Dragonborn. You are the child of an ancient prophecy."

The Nord thought about it. "That's…deep."

"Yes. I need to talk to you."

"Awesome. I am sober enough to where I will probably remember."

The dragon sighed. "Whatever. Now, you have the ability to use Dragon Shouts, the ancient technique of the Nords. Now your destiny is to defeat Alduin, the Bane of Kings."

"A dragon? Sick. Where is he?"

The dragon looked at him in astonishment. "You're not serious."

"Yeah I am. I've killed a few dragons in my time."

"You don't understand. Alduin can absorb human souls directly from Sovngarde, powering himself farther. He is practically a god on this earth."

"I killed a Daedric Prince once" defended Odei.

"You defeated a mere body of whoever you claim you fought. But Alduin is pure power in his form. No one man can kill him."

"Then why are you telling me his?"

"You are meant to assist the other Dragonborn in their quest to kill Alduin. In time, you will all come together to fight him."

"Oh. Know when that is?"

"No."

Odei rubbed his head. "So you're warning me about a potential call to action?"

"Pretty much."

"Well nice talking to you, I hope to see you later. What's your name dragon?"

"Vithdiinliz."

Odei rubbed his temples. "Uh, I might not remember that. Spoiler alert by the way."

"It's fine. I will know you Dovahkiin."

"Awesome. Now, I gotta get back to Jorrvaskr and see what happened to the others. Goodbye cool dragon!"

The dragon nodded and flew off into the distance.

"It is a good thing that was not a figment of my imagination. Otherwise I would say I had a really active imagination."


	11. Chapter 11

Odei looked around at the Circle members around him. They all appeared normal, except for Vilkas. He was covered in blood and had a long scar trailing down his jawline. Njada had something similar too, but she had a necklace around her throat. It was full of vertebrae from the Silver Hand she had killed.

"Brothers and sisters of the Circle, how has the cycle of vengeance come to you all?" asked Kodlak, the only person who didn't kill a couple Silver Hand in the last week.

"Good" stated Aela. She didn't have tear marks, but now had blood marks all over her face. "It would seem that the prey is afraid of us."

"Scared prey is the most dangerous" pointed out Vilkas. "I have news about the Silver Hand. It appears that they do indeed have an infrastructure. They are run by five people, called The Grey. One of them was the man who killed Skjor. His name is Ordal. The others I don't know. What I have is an address."

He pulled out a paper map. "Baznyc. A stronghold that they meet at. They normally cycle them, but due to our attacks they have arranged for only one location. The next meeting is in two weeks."

"Perfect" stated Farkas. "Let's strike the heart."

"Not a good idea" countered Njada. "One of those guys killed Skjor. Skjor was one of the strongest of all of us. All five of them together, well, we wouldn't be coming out."

"Agreed" said Kodlak. "We must think of something else."

They were all out of ideas, so the Harbinger sighed. "Well, I hope we think of something."

Kodlak sighed again and rubbed a hand through his hair. "Hmm. Now, I think that's all we need to discuss. This meeting is adjourned."

They all walked off, but the elder said, "Odei, I need to talk to you."

The berserker stopped and looked at his leader. "What is it?"

The Harbinger looked at him. "I can smell something on you. You haven't used your beast blood in a while."

Odei sighed. "I didn't think it was a good idea."

"Why?"

"I…well…I was a little drunk when I was attacking that fort. And if I go beast when I'm drunk, I don't end up to well."

Kodlak nodded. "I understand. But you must release it from time to time or it will explode. You haven't used it in two weeks."

"I know. It's not that I hate the blood, but it's just annoying."

"Understandable."

He put a hand on Odei's shoulder. "I am giving you three days to release it. Any longer and I will force a transformation."

The berserker understood. To retain the anger of the beast spirit inside was incredibly dangerous. People can go completely insane and remain a werewolf permanently.

"I will head off to the west" stated Odei standing up. "I will go and hunt a few things. Clear my mind too."

"Good. But be careful. I have no doubts that the Silver Hand know of our headquarters and they may preparing an assault outside of Whiterun."

Odei nodded and stretched his arms. "Try to explain to Ria why I'm gone."

"She already knows of your beast blood" reminded Kodlak. He didn't approve of exposing the secret to an underling, but he didn't punish Odei for doing so.

"I know she does, but she doesn't really understand it. Just…tell her for me."

"Of course. Good luck and happy hunting."

The berserker flexed his hands. He had naturally longer and sharper nails, like an Argonian. Minus the scales.

"I'll be back" he muttered making his way to the Whiterun gate.

Odei made it outside and looked around. Seeing no one around, he began to prepare his transformation.

First, he placed his weapons in their scabbards to make sure they wouldn't move around. Second, he put all of his belongings, including his armor and pack, in a secure location underneath a rock. Now he was bare from the chest up with only a pair of shorts to spare. He hadn't touched a drop in an hour, just to make sure he didn't get into a drunken Lycanthrope form, which usually ended up in a horrible after effect.

"Ugh, I really don't like doing this" he muttered rubbing his face. While he appreciated the bonuses he got from the beast blood, he despised the disadvantages.

"Well, let's get wild" he said growling.

He crouched down and hair exploded down his back. It spread to his head and arms and began to transform the muscles underneath. His arms expanded in size and talons burst from his fingers. His feet expanded and became flat on the ground. His face finally transformed, sprouting a muzzle and fangs.

Odei roared into the sky, the beast blood fully taking over his body. Unlike Skjor, he had inherited anger as his main attribute, not composure. He couldn't think in this form, not even close. This was the other reason he despised his beast form.

He sprinted down the plains, sniffing the air as he did so. He smelled something. It smelled like mammoth. He loved mammoth. And they usually had giants with them. He could use a good kill.

He finally saw their camp, just a few dozen yards away. He began to sprint silently, loving the planning before the kill. There were two giants standing beside a fire, with three mammoths off in the distance.

He got within striking distance and leaped at the nearest giant. It tumbled to the ground, his teeth in its neck. He ripped out its throat and started to become obsessed with the corpse. Then he remembered the other giant and some sense came back into him. He leaped off the corpse and turned.

Just in time too. The other giant had prepared a swing and just barely missed Odei.

The beast leaped at the giant and tore into its leg. Ripping several muscles, the giant collapsed to a knee.

Odei swung his claw and cleaved into the giant's stomach. Intestines and blood flew through the air and the Lycanthrope pushed its head into the cavity. Then he began to eat violently.

The giant grabbed him and threw him away.

Odei tumbled and roared back at him. He was hurt, but his body was already healing. He sprinted back aat him, his claws trailing lines in the dirt.

He leaped off the ground and embedded a hand into the giant's stomach wound. Then he pulled upwards, trailing into its rib cage. A slight push and his claw were grasping the giant's heart.

He pulled it out of its chest and began to gnaw upon it. The giant stared in horror at the sight before it collapsed dead.

Odei roared into the sky, the heart completely consumed. He turned and saw that the mammoths had ran off. A wise decision, but it frustrated him.

He turned his attention back the first dead giant and walked over to it. Tearing into its chest, he extracted the heart.

He began to feast on the organ, something he normally considered disgusting but didn't seem to mind now.

Deep inside, he knew that the beast blood would still last a while, so he decided to go running around until it settled. Otherwise he would probably kill some innocent bystanders or something. Despite the anger he possessed from the blood, he could retain a shred of humanity. Skjor himself taught him how to do that. Before he died of course.

"_Well, this'll last me for a few weeks" _he thought running into the mountains.


	12. Chapter 12

Odei walked back into Jorrvaskr, his attire and pack completely intact. He had no blood on his hands, but everyone within eye range could tell he had just killed something. The rings around his eyes were smaller then they had been for weeks, looking more like subtle eyeliner than anything else. Before, they looked like painted circles. Painted on with the kind of brush you paint houses with.

"You look better" commented Farkas looking at him. He too had smaller rings around his eyes, but they had begun to grow back.

"Been a while since I killed something" muttered the berserker rubbing his eyes. "Divines I'm beat. I need to get some sleep."

The warrior nodded. "Yeah. Have fun with Ria."

"Are you kidding? I'm too tired to even do that crap. If that's possible."

He walked off towards his room, trailing dirt with him.

He got to his room and noted that his sleeping mate was already there. She was lying in her usual spot, apparently asleep.

He shed his armor and lay down beside her.

"Have a nice hunt?" she asked her back still turned.

Obviously she wasn't asleep.

"Fairly well" he whispered beginning to trail off.

"Kill a few things?"

"Yeah. Not my favorite way of doing it, but it works."

She looked over her shoulder at him. She could tell something was off with him. "Don't be ashamed of your beast blood. You already told me remember? I understand why you took it."

"Yeah, to get a nice little spot in the Circle" he muttered angry at himself.

She turned entirely to him and caressed his cheek. "No. You did it to protect all that you hold dear. That's what you told me."

"I was trying to be romantic" he protested humbly.

"No, you were being honest" she countered. She kissed him on the forehead, almost like a blessing.

"Ugh, I hate it when you're right" he murmured.

She smiled. "Aren't I always?"

He sighed, closing his eyes.

She looked at him and made sure he was asleep. When he was, she sighed to herself.

"It's a shame really. You are such a nice guy, but I can't help you with your problems. You helped plenty of my own, but I can't do anything for you. I wish I could just open up your head and pull out what's bothering you."

She smiled at him, despite the fact he couldn't see it. "I'm glad I can be here though. Maybe I am doing some good just by being with you."

She wrapped her arms around him and nestled her head into his neck. She felt his body relax slightly and his arms tighten around him. She also felt the smile creeping on his face.

She gave a small grin. "Good night Odei."

* * *

Vilkas opened up a third bottle of mead and began pouring it into his mouth. He felt like shit for some reason, so he decided drunkenly deducing over his problems would yield some results. It had worked before.

"Ugh, well my feet don't hurt" he concluded ending his gulp. He wiped his mouth and thought a little more. "My ass is normal enough, and my dick is at average length."

He stopped. "Did I just do a sexual overview of my body?"

He sighed deeply. "Yep. I'm 63% drunk or so."

He kept guzzling the booze, barely caring for his personal health. He had to figure out his problem or he would go crazy.

"Damn it. My eyes are fine, my fingers are all responsive, so why do I feel like crap?"

He began to delve into a section of his mind he didn't like. Emotions.

"Well, that chick I slept with was pretty interesting. I might be wishing to hook up with her. Yeah, that makes sense. A little regret I assumed was love. Not too bad."

He rubbed his head. "No, that ain't it. If it was, I'd feel different. So it's not a love lost thing. Maybe it's something else..?"

He stopped suddenly. He just had an epiphany. "I feel bad about the people I murdered."

Vilkas was astonished at this revelation. "But…that doesn't make any sense. I never felt bad about killing people before. Why is this different?"

He threw down his tankard. He had his answer. Alcohol would only make it go away now. He had to think really hard.

"Was it because I ate them? I never ate a person in my Beast Form, so that is possible. But that time three years ago… I did eat that man. So I guess that's not an actual reason."

He rubbed his temples, trying to clear some of the fog. He suddenly realized that he may have drunk too much to get a clear answer.

"Think man! Wait...wait, wait that is a reason."

He put his head in his hands. "I murdered them out of anger. I never let my rage overtake me."

It made sense. He had gotten so enraged by Skjor's death that he let his passion take over. He hadn't shown honor and respect to them as warriors, or even acknowledged that privately to himself. He had given into his inner animal.

"By the Divines, it's taking over me" he muttered staring at his hands. "The beast blood is beginning to tear me apart."

He looked into the heart of the fire in front of him. "I have to get it out. I have to find a way."

He looked up and noticed Aela was walking towards him. He calmly slid to his left to offer her some space.

She sat down next to him and glanced at him. "You okay?"

"Not really. Just had an epiphany" he muttered opening another bottle of mead.

"Really? Go on" she said curious.

He sighed deeply. "I think this beast blood is killing me. It is something that is tearing my body apart. I must get rid of it."

The huntress looked at him astonished. "Get rid of it? This one thing that is able to destroy the Silver Hand? The thing Lord Hircine has given…"

"Hircine is not my lord" interjected Vilkas. "Only Lord Akatosh is."

She stopped, surprised by his words. "Fair enough. However, this beast blood was given to you so you may be more powerful."

"Which part becomes more powerful?" asked the legionary. "The human part or the animal part?"

Again, Aela was stunned by his words. "Both. They are one if you let them be so."

"Like Skjor?" muttered Vilkas.

She smacked him across the face, causing him to drop his mead. He looked at her blankly, like he expected this.

She had tears in her eyes, like she had been the one who had been smacked.

"Fuck you" she choked through her sobs.

She stormed off, her anger boiling beneath her skin.

"That could've gone better" murmured Vilkas


	13. Chapter 13

The five people in the room sat at the table, candles flicking shadows across their faces. They were all dressed in elaborate styles that didn't look entirely normal for any culture. They were the members of the Grey, the leaders of the Silver Hand.

One of them looked at the others, his face blank. "So here we meet, at such a critical point in time."

This man wore one of the simpler costumes in the room, with only a plain suit of armor and a long white robe. His armor was shaped in vertical stripes, like brush strokes on paper. It was dyed black, which suited the overall depressing look he had. This man was the murderer of Skjor. He still had the blood on his scent, to any who could smell it.

Another man in the room nodded. Oddly enough, he was the actual leader. He wore a long golden robe that was accented with purple lines and shapes. On his head was made of pure gold, with rubies all along the base. He looked like a literal king. "Yes Ordal. It appears that our greatest enemies, the Companions, have some recent things they have been doing."

"Besides collecting their stupid artifacts?" asked a third member of the Grey. This one had the weirdest appearance by far. His head was adorned with a bone helmet that appeared to be dragon-like. His eyes were a deep black, to the point where he didn't possess an iris or anything else. He was also missing his eyebrows, something most people don't notice until its pointed out.

"Stupid artifacts aren't the best word to use" stated the 'king' calmly. "Wuuthard is an incredibly powerful axe, even without its magical abilities considered. Not to mention our most recent information."

The fourth member of the group nodded. He had a small visor over his mouth, making his speech muffled but still interpretable. His hair was long and light black, while his skin was a very dark shade. His eyes were different colors, one blue, the other green. On his back was a massive claymore, nearly the size of his body. He gave off the vibe of 'professional assassin' combined with 'witchdoctor'.

"It would appear that we have a dilemma " stated the assassin witchdoctor calmly. "The Companions have a Dragonborn in their ranks."

The one with the dragon skull raised an eyebrow he technically didn't have. "A Dragonborn? How do we know this?"

Ordal looked up. "The Iceberg Citadel had a door that was sealed with an oral lock. That lock was in the Dragon language. Either they possessed an expert in Dragon, or they had a Dragonborn. Due to the average intelligence of their members, the idea of a Dragonborn is far more likely."

The 'king' nodded. "If that is true, we have a new problem to deal with. Dragonborn are insanely powerful, as indicated by Tiber Septim himself. Think about it. Ulfric Stormcloak isn't even Dragonborn, but his Shouts are already powerful as most. As indicated by his murder of the High King."

"The High King was a joke" said the man with the dragon skull. "A pacifist and a meek ruler. I could kill him with a stroke of my hand."

"No doubts on that Boraq Tienslaud" said the 'king' respectfully. "However, he was still a good leader. One that I regret Skyrim lost."

"Whatever. Let's just get back to killing this Dragonborn."

Ordal nodded. "Of course. Now I need to ask? What is it that we are shooting for?"

The 'king' thought about it. "Killing him is so…complicated. At his current location he always goes in packs. We'd all have to fight against him, and that wouldn't work too well now would it?"

The others nodded. While they were amazing alone, together was nearly impossible to manage. They all fought as single units, like most leaders should.

Boraq looked at the 'king', "What do we do then Yengi?"

Yengi, the king, gave a grin. It was so full of teeth and gums that it appeared extremely creepy. "We do the one thing more potent than a sword to the neck. A sword to his heart."

The others didn't follow, except for Ordal. "Impressive idea."

"What are you two talking about?" asked the man with the visor.

"We will use something to cleave his heart in two. Let his emotions kill him" explained Yengi. "Then when he is so weak after his heart is done bleeding, we go in for the kill."

Ordal nodded and looked across the table. "What do you think of this plan Fog?"

Fog, as he was called, looked up at him. He wore a mask over his face that shone in the limited light. Despite the simple color, it had a swirling pattern all across the surface, like a cyclone. He wore a long white robe with black accents all along the edges and a red scarf. The only visible part of his body was his eyes, and they were a deep yellow.

"This is a solid strategy. I agree completely. What will we do?"

Yengi thought about it. "We attack Jorrvaskr. And we do as much damage to him as we can. Kill his friends, his family, his leader. Everything he cares about."

"Good" stated Boraq smiling. "Let's get this party started."

Yengi stood. "Let's get going. Meeting adjourned."

They all walked off, but two stayed. Those two were Fog and Ordal.

The murderer of Skjor looked at the masked man. "What are you thinking about?"

Fog sighed. "Dragonborn. You know of what I think about them, don't you?"

"Yes. You have told me of your relationship."

"Relationship? It sounds pretty simple when you say it like that."

Ordal shrugged. "Relationships are a general term. Admittedly your relationship is far from general."

Fog sighed again. "Whatever. Anyway, I regret doing this to one. Despite my former relationship."

The killer of Skjor examined a ring on his finger. It was silver and had blue sapphire on it. He stared at it like he had no idea what it was.

"Memory. Relationships. I wish I remembered what they were."

"No you don't" protested Fog. "Life is like a steak. It's really tough, then you die."

It was supposed to be a joke, but neither of them laughed.

"Will you tell your friend of this scheme? The one you call Zosimus?"

Fog stiffened, like the name hurt him. "No. He still has problems with the Daedra he has manipulated in the past. They are all trying to kill him."

"Fairly easy to understand. Using Daedra as allies then becoming a Vigilant of Stendarr is a bit turncoat-ish."

"Irrelevant. I must be off to prepare for this Dragonborn's rampage."

Ordal was astonished. "You? I shall fight him personally."

"Why?" Fog asked slightly surprised.

The pale man kept his blank expression. "He will be fighting on rage and adrenaline. He will be no match for me."

"You are correct. Personally I couldn't fight a Dragonborn. Not after what happened."

Fog stood, his robe twirling around him. "I must be off. I have business to attend to."

"Of course. Trying to keep an eye on everything is hard to do."

The masked man sighed and walked out of the room without a word.

"So, it's time I prepare for a fight" muttered Ordal. "I killed one of his friends, now we will take what is most precious to him. And I shall bear the mantle, for only I can kill someone like him."

He looked at the ring on his finger again, the ring he could never remember. He had no memories of it at all, like it was blank from his mind.

"This ring used to mean something" he murmured to himself. "Just like I did. Until I lost my purpose."

He smiled to himself. "But then I found it again."

He looked at the ring again. "Perhaps I will find the purpose of this too? Hmm. I hope so."


	14. Chapter 14

**Now I apologize for the wait, but I can assure you that I have been working hard to make this story rock. So please read on.**

Kodlak looked at the assembly before him. All the members of the Circle were there, who looked at him for guidance. He knew that they looked at him for guidance in the fight against the Silver Hand. And he had a good idea.

"Brothers and sisters of the Circle, today I meet you with glad tidings. We have important news in the wake of the Silver Hand involvements."

"Really? Go on" asked Aela. She looked fairly pissed off, but that was only directed to Vilkas.

"We have recently learned of a new hideout for them, something that was revealed to me this morning. It appears to be minor, but we have heard it is near Whiterun. We must get an assault there at once."

"I will go" offered Odei. "I must still fight for Skjor."

They all knew why too. Skjor was the giver of the beast blood Odei possessed. A bond as close as brothers in the eyes of the Companions. His cycle of revenge was far longer than the others.

"I will go as well" offered Aela. "I need to kill something."

"No, you have built up your anger too far" stated Kodlak calmly. "You will be unable to think."

"So we send the drunken person onto this assignment?" she countered slightly angry.

"Odei is obliged to this. He is the beast brother of Skjor" replied Njada. "Just as I am beast sister to you."

"Don't fog my mind from this apparent bullshit" snapped Aela. "I want to avenge my loved one. I cared for him deeply, and my wound is still raw!"

Kodlak looked at her and glared. "Grow up. You think life is just a whirling mass of blood and vengeance do you? It also involves overcoming your pain and growing from it. If you destroy everything around you in a blind rage, you will just destroy yourself along with it. You out of all of us would know this."

Aela looked like she had been smacked. But also like she had an epiphany.

"Have I been so far manipulated that I can't think?" she murmured to herself. She looked up at the Harbinger. "How can I overcome this anger?"

Kodlak pulled out a small package of leaves and handed it to her. "Put this in an incense pot and burn them. All of them, one potful at a time. It will release your anger from your system and free yourself from your hate. It will only work if you do nothing, don't even sleep. Just breathe it in until they are all gone."

She nodded. "Of course. I…apologize for my behavior."

"It is not your fault" stated Farkas knowingly. "I had something similar when Vilkas got injured severely that one time."

A few years back, Vilkas was fighting a bunch of Silver Hand when they quickly outnumbered him. They broke both of his arms, six of his ribs, cracked his skull and snapped his left leg in three different places. When they found him bleeding in a ditch, Farkas went into a full-on rage, even more so than when Skjor died. He turned into his Beast Form and murdered two entire villages of Silver Hand in one night. He claims to barely remember this event, he was so enraged.

Aela stood, the bundle of leaves in her hand. "I must be off. I hope you do well Odei."

He nodded. He was enraged for a different reason. When the original host of his beast blood died, it stirred his inner animal. He technically tried to keep it maintained with alcohol, and even let it come out, but that did little to help. It came back with a vengeance, the target for his rage not satisfied. The beast inside knew whom killed Skjor, and wanted at least some of them dead.

"Tell me where I must go Kodlak. I fear even the herbs you possess won't help me" stated Odei. He had remained sober for the last few hours so the beast wouldn't have any resistance to him. He had to let it get rid of its anger.

"It is to the east, in the side of the river valley. You will find it near the Ritual Stone, almost adjacent to the river itself. Now please go. The rest of us must plan accordingly."

Odei nodded and wiped his brow. "I will be off."

The Nord walked out of Whiterun alone, for the second time that week. This time he would actually be addressing his anger, instead of trying to satisfy it with simple blood.

"Let's get going" he muttered adjusting his pack. He would wait to awaken his form, for fear of it never settling down.

He ran down the path to the river valley, his breath coming easily. He felt pretty good, despite the fact that he was sober. To be honest, he really only got drunk to suppress the inner beast inside him. Skjor had done the same thing in his early years, but instead decided to embrace it completely. Odei was hopefully figuring out a solution to this that didn't destroy his liver and internal organs.

He finally got to the Ritual Stone and began descending downwards. By descending he meant sliding down the cliff face, which was almost a straight drop.

He pressed the blades of his axes into the stone, cutting deep into it. This slowed his descent significantly, something he had hoped for. Otherwise he would probably die from impact.

He landed in the river, something he had hoped against. It was cold as a witch's tit and froze him to his bones.

Odei struggled out of the water and reached the shore. Shaking his hair, he felt like crap.

"Ugh, not a great way to start a slaughter" he muttered getting the water out of his eyes.

He looked up and noted the cave in front of him. Exactly where Kodlak had said it would be.

"Sick. Now it gets a little better."

He stood up and, after a quick shake, was ready to fight. He walked into the cave, noting the torches on the walls and opening. Someone was definitely residing in here.

He reached a large room and noticed two things. First of all, it was filled with bunks and chests, signs of residency. Second, it was empty. It held no weapons, no packs, no people. It was like the people inside of it had just moved out.

"What am I walking into, the preliminary stage of a hideout?" he murmured to himself.

He turned a corner and saw more beds and chests, but still no people. It was starting to bother him. It was like the people who had set these things in place no longer existed.

He reached a dining room and noticed something. Plates of food had been set up and nearly eaten all the way. Some of it was still warm.

"What am I walking into?"

He stopped. Someone was standing at the end of the room. He wore a set of black armor underneath a white robe. He was glancing at Odei calmly, like he had been expecting him. His hair was long and black, nearly wrapping around his shoulders. His skin was deathly pale, which was odd since the man was an Imperial.

"So you are the Dragonborn known as Odei" stated the man.

Odei began to get ticked off. "What? How do you know my name? And how do you know I'm…whatever the crap you just said?"

"You are Odei of the Companions, the one who inherited the beast blood of Skjor. That's why they sent you here. Second, you are Dragonborn because you speak Dragon. We can confirm this by the incident at the Iceberg Citadel."

The Nord was stunned. This guy had figured out who he was by a simple observation of one battle.

"Why are there no people here?" he asked slightly curious.

The man looked at him curiously. "Because they all left out of the back entrance. It's a little longer of a walk, but it gets to the same place."

He dropped his head, revealing his sparkling orange eyes. "To Jorrvaskr, the headquarters of your little social club."

Odei was stunned. The others had no idea they were going to be attacked. He had to warn them.

The man could sense this and began to talk again. "But I personally can't allow that. You will have to be put down or our attack is futile. So I stayed behind."

He flicked his wrists, letting his sleeves catch up to them. "To kill you."


	15. Chapter 15

The man leaped at Odei, no weapons drawn. Regardless, the Nord knew instantly he was dangerous.

He spun his axes and the man dodged nimbly. Then he was right behind him in a flash.

Odei turned and the man smacked him in the face. The Nord smashed into a table beside him, his face stinging.

He looked up at the man and the man grabbed him by the collar. Tossing him into a wall, he sighed at the Nord.

"Is this it? Are you so slow you can't even fight me? How are you even a Dragonborn?" asked the man. It was like a taunt, but due to his tone it sounded like a blank statement.

Odei was lying in a heap at the base of the wall, panting heavily. He could barely see the man's movements, as if they were invisible. He was far too fast.

The man flicked his sleeves back down. "I wish to get this over with. If you can't sustain my attacks, then I can easily join my comrades in battle against Jorrvaskr."

Odei then remembered why he was fighting this man. He was Silver Hand. He was the cause of Skjor's death, at least indirectly.

He felt the beast inside stir, and he felt its pure power. He knew he could finally release it in a way he hadn't done before, something he was hoping would save his ass.

The transformation started, and he leaped to his feet. His arms expanded to his knees and burst into violently storms of fur. It spewed blood all over the floor, and he felt his bones expand. Then they burst like flowering petals from his skin, making maces of his arms.

The fur spread and he felt his shoulders expand outwards. They formed pauldrons made of bone over them, and quickly expanded into his collarbone and neck. It moved to his head and he made a wolf-skull helmet. It enveloped his eyes and he let the beast take control.

The transformation stopped, at least with the bones. His muzzle expanded to fit the helmet, and his legs grew a second joint. He let his claws down, complimenting the spikes along his arms. He looked more like a demon then a werewolf.

The new beast Odei roared, with its new suit of armor on the upper half of its body. It was a fairly odd thing.

"Impressive" muttered the man honestly. "It would seem that your inner beast is similar to Skjor. But the bone armor is definitely new to me."

He gave a glance at the beast. "Oh, and my name is Ordal. I am the one who killed Skjor. Just thought you might want to know that."

Odei roared and sprinted at him.

Ordal grabbed him by the top of his helmet and threw him across the room.

The Lycanthrope slammed into a wall and recovered quickly. He roared loudly, blowing chunks of spittle into the Silver Hand's face.

Ordal didn't even flinch and wiped the spittle off his face. Then he reached to his left and grabbed a table.

Calmly raising his arm, he threw the entire stone table at Odei.

It leveled the Lycanthrope flat, and he struggled to take it off. Despite his superior strength and agility, he couldn't do something this big easily.

Ordal appeared on top of the table, looking down at him blankly. "I think this is rather odd. You have none of the powers of the Dragonborn at your current disposal. Perhaps it is because of your current form? No, it is something else. Is it that you don't know any Shouts?"

He pulled out a small green stone and held it in front of his face. "A Dragon Gem, the stones used to store Dragon souls. I have about six in here. Let's see what I can help you with."

He crushed the stone and six tendrils of gold emitted from it. It sank into the beast Odei's flesh and he squirmed. It was just like the time he got these from the dragon.

Ordal pulled out a book and flicked through it. It had a dragon on it, emblazoned with a torch. "This is a book I received from my leader. It appears that he has your best interest at heart. Or something."

He stopped and read one of the Shouts. "Hm, Fire Breath. Interesting. Let's try that one."

He looked at him and read from the book, "Yol Toor Shul. Can you say that for me?"

Odei was barely able to do much of anything, mainly because his animal form didn't possess vocal cords. Slight disadvantage of being in a rampaging wolf form.

"Hmm. I guess I'll have to try more progressive teaching methods."

He pulled out a small syringe and injected it straight into Odei's neck. He gasped as he felt the transformation dissipate.

"How..?" he asked regaining his vocal cords. The bones around his chest retracted back inside and his face returned to normal.

"I learned how to subdue people like you from my leader" stated Ordal calmly. "We used this as a deterrent in combat. It only works during the transformation, so it is rather hard to get it into a Lycanthrope's body. But that's not a problem for me now is it?"

He raised the book. "Now, back to learning. Can you say..?"

"YOL TOOR SHUL!" exclaimed Odei loudly.

A solid wall of fire emitted from his mouth and knocked Ordal clean off his feet. He smashed into a table on the other side of the room, smoking.

Odei grabbed the table he was pinned under and threw it upwards. Jumping to his feet, he grabbed the discarded book.

"Now it's my turn to kick some ass" muttered the Dragonborn smiling.

He flicked through the pages and came to an interesting one.

"VEN GAAR NOS!" he yelled using the final dragon souls in his system.

A cyclone spewed form the ground around him and flew towards Ordal. He was caught up in it and began to spin around in the air.

Then he slammed into the ceiling and fell back down. He landed on a table, icicles embedded in his chest.

Odei smiled and slid the book into his pack. He would use it. Later of course. He had memorized the two Shouts near instantly. He actually had a fairly good memory when not drunk.

He pulled out one of his axes and threw it at the downed Ordal.

The Imperial kicked out and the blade spun away from him. He jumped up and grabbed a chunk of the table beside him.

He threw it as hard as he could. It smashed into the side of Odei's head. The Nord collapsed, chunks of masonry in his face.

Ordal appeared on top of him, his hand completely flat.

He then thrust forward, embedding his hand into Odei's chest like a blade.

The Nord gasped. He could literally feel Ordal's hand in his chest.

The Imperial looked down at him, that frustrating blank look on his face.

"It would seem that I am the winner" stated Ordal without a smile or a grimace. It was like he had taken this as a fact.

"Now I must be off to assist my comrades. Good day."

He extracted his hand from Odei's chest. It was completely covered in blood, but thankfully didn't have any internal organs in its grasp.

He turned and walked off, not even bothering to look at Odei.

"Shit" muttered the Nord rubbing his chest. "I have to get up."

He pulled out a potion of healing and began drinking it. It would help a little bit, but that's not what he was totally worried about.

"The beast is still not satisfied' he noted with disdain. "It has been beaten. Now it's really angry."

He felt the hole in his chest. It was beginning to regenerate, which caused him to sigh.

"Ugh, I have to move. But I have to rest. Damn it" he murmured.


	16. Chapter 16

Odei stumbled towards Jorrvaskr, his chest still giving him trouble. That Ordal guy had done something more than just a simple stab in his chest. It felt like he had mixed his organs into a smoothie somehow.

He reached the steps and vomited up more blood. He had been doing that ever since he had been hit. It was starting to get rather annoying.

He wiped his mouth and kept walking upwards. He had to figure out how bad the situation was.

He reached the top of the steps and looked at the doors. They were in splinters and he could see clearly inside. It appeared that the fire that was normally there was extinguished and the tables had been destroyed.

"Shit, that's not good" he murmured stepping over the chunks of the door. He finally reached the inside and noted how cold it was. It felt like a snow storm had gone inside the building itself.

He saw that the other Companions were standing around, all looking at something. He got closer and noticed what it was.

"Holy Talos" he muttered.

It was the body of Kodlak Whitemane.

Vilkas turned to him and glared. "Where in Oblivion were you? What was at that hideout?"

Odei pulled down his shirt, revealing the scar on his chest. It was still fairly raw and pulsated every time his heart gave a beat.

Vilkas raised an eyebrow. "An ambush eh? Well that's great. But now we have more important things to deal with."

"Yeah, revenge" noted the drunk calmly.

The legionary shook his head. "No, we have bigger problems."

Farkas turned around and saw his friend. "Ah, you came back. Awesome. Cause we lost the chunks of Wuuthard."

Odei's eyes narrowed. "Sons of bitches. What's next, did they take the freaking ale too?"

"No" answered Vilkas calmly.

"Oh, awesome. So why are you are looking at me rather odd?"

Vilkas coughed, something he normally didn't do. It appeared he was nervous. "They…there were other casualties."

Odei stopped when he saw Aela's eyes. They were full of this silent anger he knew well.

"Oh no, oh Talos no" muttered the berserker sinking to his knees. "No, no, no, no."

He began to cry, because he completely understood what they weren't telling him.

"They…kidnapped Ria" murmured Farkas.

Odei looked up hopefully. "Wait, she's alive? Then we still have a chance!"

"My friend" stated Vilkas, "They managed to kill Kodlak. Who knows what they're doing to her right now?"

"Then we need to find her!" exclaimed the berserker. He was slowly getting angrier at these people who just stood and gave him damn eyes full of guilt. He didn't want guilt. He wanted results.

"Odei, you don't understand. We don't even have an idea where they went" said Vilkas trying to calm down his friend.

The drunk began to get extremely frustrated. "I don't care! Find out where they are! I won't allow anything to happen to Ria!"

He stormed off, not really sure what to do. He grabbed a chunk of a table and flipped it. It sailed through the air and smashed into the other side of the room.

Vilkas sighed. "That could've gone better."

"How did he get that pissed?" asked Farkas slightly confused.

"He inherited Skjor's beast blood" explained Aela calmly. "While it makes him a great natural hunter, he also is prone to fits of rage. That's why we classify Odei as a berserker. He can't control himself when he's angry."

Vilkas nodded. "Very true. Now while I can't honestly say where the Silver Hand have taken Ria, I know we have to find her as soon as possible before they do something to her."

"What about Kodlak?" asked Njada. "We can't just leave him here."

Vilkas thought about it. "The old man always taught me the affairs of the living were more important than the affairs of the dead. However, leaving him on the floor is disrespectful. Get a coffin. We will set up the funeral pyre when we get Ria back."

"I guess you're our leader now?" inquired Farkas. "I mean, the old man's dead, and I sure as anything don't want to lead. Aela has refused the offer before, and Odei and Njada are too inexperienced. No offense Njada."

"None taken" replied the Imperial woman.

Vilkas shrugged. "I guess I have to lead now. So find a coffin for Kodlak. I'll try to talk some sense into Odei. While you all are at it, find out any clues about where they took Ria. I want to get her back without too many injuries."

* * *

Vilkas walked into the living chambers of the Companions, which was deathly silent since the attack. Everyone was upstairs conversing and discussing. Except for one person.

Odei was sitting on his bed, this blank gaze in his head. He appeared ot be dead, but the movements of his chest proved it false.

"Odei" muttered the legionary nervous.

"I don't want to talk" replied the berserker.

"I just came here to inform you were are doing everything we can to find her. I know what she means to you."

Odei looked up and Vilkas saw the tears running down his face. The drunk looked like complete shit.

"No, you don't know" countered the berserker. "You can't possibly understand how I feel. So just leave me alone."

Vilkas nodded. "I'll tell you when we find anything out."

"Thank you" murmured Odei.

The legionary walked off and left him to his thoughts.

Odei rubbed the necklace Ria had given to him. It was a birthday present, something he received barely a month ago. It was a beautiful bone necklace with several pieces of leather and metal in it. It appeared almost like a weapon in certain aspects.

"I'm so sorry Ria" he muttered to himself. "I'm sorry I wasn't here to protect you."

He gripped the necklace, the edges of which cut into his hands.

"But I promise, I will never let this happen again" he whispered feeling the tears come freely. "I will save you Ria. I promise."


	17. Chapter 17

Ria examined the confines of her room rather oddly. It wasn't a prison cell, at least not in the traditional sense. The windows didn't have bars and she had a normal door. Granted she didn't need bars or a cell door. She was nearly twenty stories off the ground and the door was locked with magic.

She was currently seated on a bed, a rather nice one actually. The people who kidnapped her almost pitied her to some extent, like they knew what they were going to do to her.

"Bring it" she muttered to herself. "I can take anything they dish out."

The door clicked once, indicating it was going to open. She braced herself for literally anything.

Someone walked through the door, trailing his robe. He was one she didn't see at the attack. He wore a long white robe on top of a set of stylized black armor. His hair reached his shoulders and was shiny like a gemstone. His eyes were a pale blue, similar to ice. Wrapped around his head was a metal circlet with spiked horns running all around it. It was at the level of his eyebrows, making it seem like his temples were sprouting it.

"You are the prisoner my comrades captured" he stated. Despite the dramatic message his appearance sent, he spoke with a monotone voice.

She nodded simply.

"No conversation? Unexpected. I've heard rumors that Companions were very talkative."

"You hear a lot" said Ria simply.

"Yes I do."

The man rubbed his right hand, which appeared to have flecks of blood on it. "Now, you are our prisoner, but that doesn't mean your safety isn't in our mind. While you are here, you will not be harmed."

"You almost sound like you care for someone like me" she said surprised.

The man shrugged. "No matter. I have been ordered to do these things and say these things. Your safety is only relevant as long as I've been ordered to make it relevant."

Ria was surprised by the man's behavior. He really seemed like he didn't' care.

Someone else walked into the room, but this one wasn't that extraordinary. All this person had was a tray of food, and that made him interesting to Ria.

She observed the food astonished. It was actually incredibly exquisite food, better than what she ate at Jorrvaskr.

"You will eat three meals a day, when we give them to you" stated the man blankly. "If you refuse to eat, I will have to force it down your throat. For the ease of both of us, I recommend eating. We will ensure your survival for the moment."

"Why am I here?" she finally asked. "Why didn't you all just kill me?"

"That is something I don't know" admitted the man simply. "I have been ordered to keep you alive, so I will. If I am ordered to have you dead, I will do so as well."

He stopped and got a curious look in his face. "Do you hate us woman?"

Ria was surprised at the sudden question.

"I asked if you hated us."

"I don't hate you" she answered honestly. "You're just doing what you think is right. And my friends are coming to rescue me. And in that group is the one I love."

"Love" murmured the man to himself. "What is love? I haven't been able to understand it for the longest time."

"Why? Did you never experience it?" inquired Ria.

The man shrugged. "I don't know. It is one of the few things I haven't gained back."

He rubbed the ring on his right hand. "Five years ago, I lost all of my memory in an accident. I have no idea what it was. I just remember waking up in this castle with the rest of the Silver Hand taking care of me. Ever since then I have been trying to regain my memory. Slowly I began piecing things together. This is the only line to my past."

He held up the ring. "It had my name on it. Ordal. It could be someone else's ring for all I know. My name may be completely different. I don't know."

Ria was growing curious of this man. He wasn't your typical hate-driven Silver Hand member. He seemed more like a lost soul.

"Why are you still with the Silver Hand?" she asked.

"It is the only life I know" explained Ordal. "I stuck with them since I had nowhere to go. They are the closest thing to a family to me."

He sighed. "No matter. Just eat your food."

She began to dig in, noting how good it tasted. It almost tasted drugged, it was so good. To be honest, she could care less what kind of drugs they pumped into her. She barely knew anything about the Companions, or anything even relevant to the Silver Hand. If they wanted information, they would come up dry.

Once she was halfway through, Ordal stood. "You have eaten a sufficient amount to survive. I do not need to watch over you now. You may continue to eat if you wish."

He then turned and walked out of the room without a glance back.

* * *

He walked out into the hallway and noted that someone was waiting for him. It was the man with the visor, one of the fellow members of the Grey.

"What do you require Keinar?" asked Ordal calmly.

The Bosmer sighed through the visor. "I want to know what you think of this new prisoner we have. She is our ticket to destroying that Dragonborn."

"She is just a prisoner" stated the Imperial calmly. "No reason to label her or categorize her. In a matter of weeks she will be dead anyway."

"That's just what I expected from you" said Keinar coolly. "Cold and calculating. Just like normal."

"It is the way I must think. It is the only way I know how."

"I understand. I learned slightly different, but I remain the way I am."

The Imperial brushed a strand of hair from his face. "Do you require anything else?"

"Not really. You may want to lock that door better though. I have no doubts that Boraq may try to, um, 'get some', as he put it."

Ordal nodded. "Of course. I cannot allow our prisoner to be injured."

"And if Boraq is involved, injury is usually imminent."

"I am aware. I shall make sure it is so."

Keinar adjusted his short brown robe, which complimented his skin tone. "I must go. Yengi has plans I need to put into action."

"Of course. I must be off as well."

They both turned and walked away, not even bothering to say goodbye to one another.


	18. Chapter 18

Vilkas walked into the mead hall of Jorrvaskr and noticed Odei. Like usual, he was gulping away at some heavy liquor. Unlike usual, Odei was smashing every bottle on the floor next to him. Judging by the size of the glass pile, he had been drinking for a while.

He looked at Odei's face and was astonished at what he saw. Odei, who normally was fairly pale, was completely flushed and nearly beet red.

"Holy Akatosh. How long have you been drinking?" asked the legionary.

"Three" replied the drunk simply.

Vilkas looked out a window. It was pitch dark outside. "In the afternoon?"

"No. The morning."

The legionary was completely amazed. Odei had been drinking for nearly twenty four hours.

"Don't you think you should like, I don't know, get some sleep?" proposed Vilkas.

"I'll get sleep when my body demands it" answered the berserker. "It ain't like me to give up on Ria. Even though chances are, I'm gonna die rescuing her. It's pretty damn grave if you ask me."

He smiled. "Ya get it? That's a joke."

Vilkas nodded and sat beside him. "Do you mind?"

"As long as it doesn't involve me stopping" replied the berserker. "That joke sucked. Need more booze."

"No. I needed a midnight snack anyway."

Vilkas began to eat, not really caring that one of his friends was drowning in alcohol. To be honest, it wasn't the worst thing in the world for a person to do. Nords were naturally resistant to drunkenness anyway.

Someone came in, someone Odei didn't recognize. Granted he was practically seeing things that didn't exist, so it was hard to do much of anything.

The person handed a letter to Vilkas, who promptly opened it. He quickly read through it and smiled.

"We got them."

Odei knew instantly what he was talking about. "We found the Silver Hand headquarters?"

"Precisely. But it's huge apparently. We'll need everyone to be fully rested."

"Not me" stated the berserker simply. "I'm not drunk enough."

"Of course you aren't" muttered Vilkas. "I need to get some shut-eye though. Meet you when I get the others up."

"Don't take too long. I need to get Ria back."

He grinned sloppily. "But at least I get to try all this booze."

At about eight in the morning, every member of the Circle was up and ready to roll. Now that they lost so many, only five remained. Njada, Aela, Farkas, Vilkas, and Odei were the only ones left. They would have to fight the Grey, who were also in a group of five.

"I can't wait to show those sons of bitches a fight" muttered Njada. "I didn't really like Ria, but no one fucks with my comrades!"

"Agreed" replied Aela. "They crossed a line when they kidnapped someone so young. And a personal friend" she added looking at Odei.

The berserker said nothing. He had trouble standing and was relying on a staff someone had gotten for him. Tied at the end of this staff was a small glass orb. Inside of it was his special tonic, all of it. It was nearly a solid bottle's worth of Instant Kick Ass Juice, as he called it. It was the ultimate tonic, toxic to anyone who was even half-sober.

"Well, I've been waiting for a good fight. Let's get this rolling" said Farkas rubbing his sword. I want to collect some heads. Preferably twenty."

"I will take that bet" stated Vilkas. "But let's discuss bull crap after we kill them all."

With that word Odei began to walk, stumbling with his staff. He really couldn't communicate too well, and it burned up his energy at this point. He didn't have that much. Only enough to get there with a simple walk.

They began their journey to the Silver Hand stronghold, which was near Markarth. Fitting, due to the amount of silver near those mountains.

By the second day they were halfway there. During that time Odei spoke no words, only sipping on a liquor to keep up his strength. He barely slept, instead just bobbing on his feet or leaning on a tree when the others stopped. He only slept on the third day, when they finally got nearby. They had agreed to strike during the early morning, so they wanted to get rested.

Odei woke up drunk. He knew that when he couldn't feel his fingers or toes and his entire body felt pretty good. It was obvious.

He stood up on unsteady legs, his staff still ready. He looked at the others and finally began to speak.

"Gods damn my head. I feel like a midget wrestler is banging a snare drum in my head."

They all nodded. The worst part was that they had to let Odei get this drunk for him to be capable of fighting against the man who killed Skjor. Not to mention the one who led him.

"Don't worry Odei. You'll be telling this story after we're done anyway" assured Aela.

"Yeah, after he's done welcoming back Ria for a few nights" muttered Farkas.

"Damn right" murmured Odei. "I'm gonna do everything to her. I'm gonna have to buy some screws for my bed after I'm done."


	19. Chapter 19

**One Important note before you continue: I replaced Keinar's race from Redguard to Bosmer. That's pretty much the only main detail.**

Ordal looked at Ria again, watching her eat her breakfast. After doing this for nearly a week, he was no longer uncomfortable, and neither was she. It was like a fact of life for both of them.

"Who is this guy you call Boraq?" asked the young Nord curiously.

"How do you know him?" replied the Imperial.

"I hear you talk about him. I can hear a lot better than you think."

Ordal sighed. "Boraq is a member of the Grey, a leader of the Silver Hand. He is a brute powerhouse, but also a very powerful individual. Personally, I don't like him that much. Far too arrogant."

Ria finally got the courage to ask a burning question on her mind. "Why do you hate Lycanthropes so much?"

The Imperial thought about it. "We all have our own reasons. Boraq thinks it's good sport, while people like Keinar and Yengi do it for a personal vendetta against Lycanthropes. Me, I do it because these people are my family. I follow the family."

"What about that one guy named Fog?"

Ordal shrugged. "I don't know. I know nothing about him. I have never even seen his face."

Ria was astonished. That kind of person didn't seem like a werewolf hunter. He seemed more like an assassin, or a thief.

"Why am I still here?" she asked after a few bites.

"For the same reason we got you. To install an attack from the Companions."

"Do you think they value me that highly?" she inquired. She honestly didn't think she was worth much of anything to risk a rescue, so the idea of the entire group coming was astonishing.

"One of them does" replied Ordal.

"You mean my lover right?"

The Imperial nodded.

"So you are willing to manipulate his inner emotions to eliminate him?"

"Yes" he answered simply.

"Well you're exactly the kind of people I imagined. Cruel, sadistic assassins who are driven by hate."

Ordal didn't comment.

"What? You don't have anything to say? Even at that? What kind of man are you? Do you even care about the Silver Hand?"

"I care to the point I will follow my orders" replied the Imperial. "Defending their honor is not my job."

She looked at him disgusted. "At least the people in my group are passionate about themselves."

"They're also walking into a trap" pointed out Ordal.

She smacked him, deeply angry at his statement. While he was right, it was incredibly aggravating since Ria couldn't do anything.

The Imperial didn't react to her physical strike, not even bothering to wipe the blood on his mouth. He simply stood and walked out of the room.

She got even more frustrated at this. She had hoped he would yell, or insult her, or strike her back. It was rather infuriating to have someone who never even gave his opinion to you.

She smashed her head into the empty food tray, cleaving it in two. The servant beside her barely flinched and took the chunks of glass from around her.

* * *

Ordal sighed when he was outside the door.

"I can never understand humans" he murmured to himself.

He saw Keinar down the hallway again, something the Bosmer had been prone to be doing.

"What are you here for?" asked the Imperial calmly.

Keinar gestured out of the window. "It would seem our prisoner was effective."

Ordal gave a sideways glance. "Pardon?"

"The Companions are here to rescue this girl" explained the Bosmer.

"Hmm. I didn't expect to get here in only a week" muttered the Imperial. "It would seem they found the 'accidental' letter we left them a bit early."

He looked at the door to Ria's cell. "Let Boraq handle the initial greeting. I'll be waiting for this Dragonborn in the west wing. With the prisoner."

"Good that. I'll be ready when they manage to kill Boraq."

* * *

The Companions walked into the courtyard of the castle, noting the style of it. It was a typical castle with a Cyrodiil style. It was pretty huge, especially since it was built into a mountainside. The courtyard was immense, nearly a hundred yards wide and made of solid stone. In it were several statues of various people, most likely hunters of some importance to the Silver Hand.

"You know the objective" stated Vilkas gripping his sword. "First, find Ria. Second, kill every Silver Hand you find."

"I'm gonna find my little sweet roll" said Odei completely hammered.

The others didn't argue.

"Let's see how many we get to kill" muttered Aela drawing her bow.

They all stopped when a scream emitted from the castle. It was incredibly loud, but it was fairly obvious who gave it.

"RIA!" exclaimed Odei. "HOLD ON I'M COMING!"

He began to sprint, the staff he had swinging behind him. It was like he was possessed with extreme coordination and speed in a matter of seconds.

A forearm smashed into his face and he flipped backwards. He landed in a heap and looked up at his assaulter.

The assaulter grinned at the Nord, his face covered in war paint. On his head was a massive dragon skull that sufficed for a helmet. He was covered, neck to toe, in Dragonbone armor that shone in the sunlight. His eyes were black orbs in his head, and he lacked eyebrows.

The one thing that made him unique was his size. He was nearly nine feet tall, level with the statues around him.

"Well, well, well, it appears that you're the Dragonborn who we led here" said the man. "I'm sure someone is having all sorts of fun with her. I kinda wish I was there, but I think I'll settle with braining you."

Odei looked completely enraged at this. The idea of someone doing….things to Ria was too unbearable. He gritted his teeth, feeling the beast inside beckon to him.

The man grinned down at him. "You looked pissed. Come on. Show me what you got."

"RAAAGH!" yelled Odei flaring his arms.

The man was pushed back about three yards, only stopping when he slammed his fist into the ground. He stared in wonder at this Nord who had managed to push him away.

Only to see Odei lean forward and exclaimed three words.

"VEN GAAR NOS!"

A huge cyclone flew from the Nord's mouth and trailed to the man. He was blasted on all sides with enough force to begin destroying the statues.

The man flared his arms to the side and the cyclone blasted away from him. This destroyed the statues around him and sent a wave of magicka flying through the air.

"You're an annoying little bug who makes a lot of noise" muttered the man. "Let's shut you up."

He grabbed a stone beneath him and tugged it from the ground. It was a yard square and appeared to be pretty old.

The man threw it as hard as he could at Odei with enough power to push down a mammoth.

The projectile exploded in mid-air, something interrupting its journey. The man stared in confusion until he saw an arrow in the pile of rubble.

Aela reloaded her bow and turned to Odei. "Get going. We'll take care of this guy."

The berserker nodded and sprinted past the man. The man attempted to hit him, but was struck by Vilkas's sword.

"Ugh, piece of shit" murmured the man swinging at the legionary.

Odei ran to the wall of the castle and leaped onto it. Gripping the stone, he began climbing upwards. His staff was in a sling on his back, the jug of tonic still there. He had learned how to climb a while ago and knew the basics. It was enough to get him onto the closest roof.

"RIA! DON'T WORRY I WILL SAVE YOU!" he screamed into the sky.

He smashed through a nearby window and leaped inside the palace. Then he began to run to the source of the scream. The west wing.


	20. Chapter 20

Odei sprinted through the palace, not even caring about the noise. He was driven by instinct and hate at this point. The alcohol was beginning to wear off, and he needed it as long as possible. It was the fuel he would use in his fight against whoever got in his way.

He leaped down a set of stairs and smashed into the floor. Rolling smoothly, he was certain the tonic hadn't burst. It probably would've exploded if he had dropped it.

He managed to get to the west wing and threw the doors open. He stumbled into the room, looking frantically around for Ria.

"Ria! Ria! Answer me! Where are you!?" he yelled.

"I'm here" said his love calmly.

He looked down the room and noticed her. She was behind the man who had nearly killed him. He still wasn't sure who he was.

"Get away from Ria you piece of shit" he warned drawing his axes.

The man turned, that blank stare on his face. "I have been ordered not to flee. I also am to keep you from interrupting Lord Yengi. Now if I must keep these orders intact by killing you, so be it."

He drew a sword from his side. It was silver and shaped similar to a rapier. "So I will do as I must to keep my orders intact."

Odei chuckled. "Funny. I didn't think you'd actually draw a weapon in fighting me. I thought you'd just stab me with your hand."

The man said nothing.

"Before I fight you, may I know your name?" asked the Nord twirling his axes.

"Ordal" answered the Imperial.

"Odei" replied the berserker.

"Let us begin then" stated Ordal raising his sword.

The Nord ran at him, his axes trailing behind him. He reached him and began to spin.

The Imperial leaped back and jabbed once. It slashed across Odei's arm and cut a long line into it.

The berserker grunted and grasped the wound. It didn't bleed that much, but hurt like crap even in his drunken state.

"My sword is meant to pain" explained Ordal calmly. "I use it to damage a prey to the point where they are quivering in agony. Then I finish them off personally. I did this to your friend Skjor to make it easier on myself."

"You…killed Skjor?" repeated Odei astonished.

"Yes."

The Nord gave a sinister grin as the beast in his head pulsated. "Oh, you just gave me exactly what I needed."

He let it cool down first, before he raised his weapons. "I'm gonna use everything I have against you. Possibly this liquor bottle."

"Then you will use it" stated Ordal blankly.

They ran at each other again, slashing weapons. Despite the dual weapons wielded by Odei, the Imperial was fully capable of blocking his attacks.

Ordal flashed his sword and stabbed the Nord in the shoulder. This caused him to stop in pain.

The Imperial raised his hand and pointed with two fingers. A small ball of magicka emitted from his fingers and began to spark.

"Lightning Bolt" whispered Ordal calmly.

The bolt blasted from his hand and flew at Odei.

The Nord deflected it with a brush of his hand. It smashed into a wall and left a small burn mark.

"You survived a bolt of lightning by simply deflecting it" noted Ordal. "You are stronger then when we last fought. Is it because of your current drunkenness? Or maybe your friends who are empowering your inner spirit?"

He paused. "Or maybe…it is because of this woman you wish to help?"

Ria flinched when he mentioned her, like she was surprised at his claim.

"Is it because of love that you are more powerful?" asked Ordal looking at him. "I do not understand this, but if you are stronger, then I will accept it."

"It's not because I got stronger" stated Odei brushing a strand of hair from his face. "I was always this strong. You got slower."

"Pardon?"

"Your speed has lessened then when we fought. Your strength has too. Maybe I did get a little stronger."

He gave a sinister grin. "Or it's because you became more like me."

Ordal's eyes widened and he gripped his sword. He actually looked mildly annoyed.

"More like you?" he muttered keeping eye contact. "I couldn't be less like you. You are a Lycanthrope. I am a human. There are differences."

"Hmm, the hunter becomes like the prey. How intriguing."

Ordal looked even more annoyed at this. "Let me prove to you how we are different."

He tapped his sword into the ground and it sparked with electricity. It coursed over his left arm and began to accumulate at the end of his katana.

"Show me. Show me how we are similar" muttered the Imperial slightly curious.

Odei grinned and raised his axes.

"YOL TUUR SHUL!"

Flames erupted from his mouth and bathed his blades in flames. They instantly lit on fire and became like torches.

He roared and sprinted at Ordal, his weapons leaving trails of fire behind him.

He smashed into the Imperial, his weapon exploding when it did so.

Ordal's katana reacted exactly the same, the two different energies trying to override the other.

Odei leaped back and spun. The blades hit each other again and sparked.

Then the flames on the Nord's weapons died down and left only Ordal's lightning sword.

"Just like I thought" muttered the Imperial calmly. "My elemental magic is far superior to your own. You merely adopted magic. I was proficient in it since age seven. I was trained as a hunter of man and beast. You don't have a chance."

"Says you!" yelled Odei. He stepped back and whipped back his head.

"YOL TUUR SHUL!" he exclaimed again.

A ball of fire spewed at the Imperial, almost like a beam.

Ordal raised his sword and the flames split in two around him.

Odei sprinted past him, the Imperial still dealing with his fire column. His strategy was a dodge roll and then slic him in the back.

Ordal calmly hit him with a side kick and sent the Nord into a wall.

He flicked his wrist and the fireball moved past him.

"You think I can be outmaneuvered by simple tricks? I know them all."

Odei picked himself up from the rubble and shook off the daze. He glanced at Ria to make sure she was okay.

"I will use whatever I have to do beat you" stated Odei standing up. "It doesn't matter what I have to do. As long as I get her safe."

He grinned at Ordal, who looked a little surprised. "I will defeat you Ordal! I swear to this!"

* * *

Vilkas eyed the man in front of him, grinning as he did so. "You are one big asshole" he finally concluded.

Boraq grunted. "Little bugs. All of you. Not only do I have to deal with you, I can't kill that Dragonborn now. Damn you all. I wanted to fight someone interesting."

Farkas raised his sword. "Believe me you big bitch. We're interesting enough."

"Four on one? I like it."

"Pity then" stated a voice from the side. "I wanted to join."

Someone leaped from a tree in the courtyard, his white robe flaring in the wind. His scarlet scarf was wrapped tight around his neck, and a grey mask covered his face.

"Ha! Fog! I am so glad to see you! I was beginning to think I'd be greedy today and not share this fine prey!" yelled Boraq grinning.

"That's funny. You don't normally share. Is this a special occasion?" asked Fog cautiously.

"Why yes! We get to kill nearly half of the Companions in one day! And tomorrow, we kill the rest! It's a glorious occasion!"

"Good. I always wanted to host a party" muttered the masked man drawing a small dagger. It looked like a chunk of ice in his hands.

"I take the one with the mask" stated Aela calmly.

"So do I" joined Njada.

"Then we get the big guy" said Vilkas referring to himself and his brother.

"Perfect" muttered Farkas. "I wanted to fight him anyway."

They all ran to their opponents, yelling battle cries.

Njada raised her short sword and swung at the masked man.

Then for some reason her strike missed. It was like he had moved or done something to make her miss. He hadn't moved an inch though.

She swung again and he did the same thing. It was like he really wasn't there.

"Stand still!" she yelled to this guy named Fog.

The masked man then raised a hand and made it into a flicking position.

He flicked her in the forehead and she flew backwards. She landed in a heap, stunned at his strength.

Aela fired a Daedric arrow at him and he caught it smoothly. He looked at it admirably, like he was impressed by it. "Impressive weaponry. Far superior to most people."

He snapped it in half with his hand and spun his dagger. "Of course I get the two chicks to fight. I always have trouble maintaining a gentlemen's composure."

Njada screamed and ran at him again. He flicked his dagger and she got a huge slash across her forehead. It poured blood down her face, covering her left eye.

"You can't beat me by rushing towards me. It doesn't work" explained Fog calmly. "So try something different or fold."

Vilkas and Farkas charged at Boraq, forming a line towards him. They crossed together and swung at the same time.

The huge man blocked their strikes with his armored forearm and pushed them away. He smashed his fist into the ground and sent them reeling to the ground.

"You little bugs can't stand up to a fucking goliath!" roared Boraq. "You can fight all you like! You'll just die tired!"

Farkas looked up at him and grinned. "I don't get tired."

They ran at him again, this time with a different tactic. They ran right past him and crossed again, forming a helix shape maneuver.

"Ha! All your little spinning and dancing won't do anything!" exclaimed the man.

Vilkas smiled and held up a small Flames spell. "Doubtful."

He pressed it into his other palm, at the same time as his brother Farkas.

The strings connecting their swords burst into flames and trailed towards Boraq. It wrapped around him, forming a ring of fire.

The man grimaced and attempted to throw off his burning bonds. Then he smelled something.

The bonds exploded violently, being covered in special oil. It was the same kind used in crossbow bolts.

The man collapsed to the ground, his skin burning.

"Heh, not so tough are you big guy?" joked Farkas.

The man flared his arms to the side and his bonds disintegrated.

"Your Dragonborn buddy spewed a fireball at me. What makes you think this would be better?" asked Boraq tauntingly. "Even I'm not that stupid."

He cracked his knuckles, not even bothering to get any weapons. "I'm gonna crush you like the vermin you really are!"


	21. Chapter 21

Njada roared and swung her sword, trying to hit this guy. For once he actually had to dodge visibly, taking steps backwards to evade her attacks. Either she got faster or he slowed down.

"You really are pretty" muttered Fog nonchalantly. "It's a shame we couldn't do anything together. I have been without a bedmate for a while. But judging by your hair, I assume you're a lesbian."

"Shut up!" she yelled swinging high.

The man raised his dagger and blocked her strike. Gripping her sword, he threw her over his head.

She smashed into a wall and laid still. He knew better to assume she was dead though.

An arrow flew at his face and whizzed past his mask. It was so close he felt the feathers on the shaft.

"Hmm, you're good" noted Fog looking at Aela. "Not many can hit me while calculating my maneuvers. You're the closest someone's gotten in the last ten years."

She didn't reply, instead just reloading and firing another arrow.

He sidestepped and began to rush at her. His attire swirled around him, making it seem like he was spinning.

She didn't care. She kept shooting at the general mass, calculating with random guessing where he could be.

Her tactics didn't work, because he was right there before she could hit him. He whirled his dagger and raised it to her throat.

Aela reacted accordingly, grabbing his arm and throwing him off balance. She forced it behind his back, locking it with her other arm. She then raised her bowstring to his neck, touching it right to his windpipe.

"This string is Malachite. Sharp as a razor" she whispered into his ear. It was blocked with his long black hair, but it was obvious where it was.

She then sliced him straight across the throat, ending his life.

The man shifted forward and she gasped. He had…phased through her string. It was like he became ethereal or something, because her string didn't affect him.

Fog stumbled forward and glanced back at her. His eyes, which were visible through the mask, were flashing yellow.

"You really are amazing. But I think I can't spare you to keep you as a play thing. So I will have to kill you and your friend. No offense meant, especially to such pretty ladies."

He stopped when he felt something grip his scarf.

He was thrown into the air, sailing backwards. He smashed into the castle and ricocheted into a separate courtyard.

"No offense asshole" murmured Njada mostly recovered from her previous wounds.

* * *

Vilkas swung his sword high while his brother did low. This accomplished giving two long lines in Boraq's leg and leaving two trails of blood across the courtyard.

"Ugh, fucking stinging vermin" muttered the man smashing into the courtyard. The two brothers reeled away and began to formulate another plan.

"We gotta hit his head" said Farkas. "Big guys go down from a few shots."

"Like how you get your ass kicked?' inquired Vilkas.

"Unfortunately, yes. But now, let's use it against him."

"Roger that. You be the springboard. I'll be the spring."

"Ay."

Farkas sprinted at the Redguard, his sword sparking into the stone. The man braced for the hit, his fist raised high.

The warrior stopped suddenly and sank to a knee. Boraq looked at him in confusion until his eyes widened.

"Oh shi…"

Vilkas stepped onto his brother's back and leaped off. He sailed through the air, his sword high over his head.

He swung, cleaving a long line into Boraq's temple. It gushed blood and made a miniature geyser across the courtyard.

"Ugh, that's my head you sonofabitch!" yelled the Redguard swinging his arm. It connected with a statue, which promptly exploded.

Farkas groaned. "Talos that did nothing."

Vilkas nodded, amazed at the man's durability. "That would kill anyone else. I hit his freaking skull."

Boraq smiled down at them. "You think I'm like everyone else you've fought? I'm part giant. I was abandoned by my family and taught under the Silver Hand. I'm the toughest person this side of Tamriel!"

He laughed. "But I feel worse for that Dragonborn. He's fighting either Keinar or Ordal. And both of those options suck for anyone."

* * *

Odei swung his axe high and was again blocked by Ordal's sword. He changed his trajectory and swiped at the Imperial's feet.

The Imperial calmly leaped backwards and pointed his two fingers.

"Lightning Bolt" he whispered again.

Odei rolled to the side, barely missing the arc of lightning. He then began sprinting at Ordal, roaring as he did so.

The Imperial blocked his frantic strikes, doing so with an inhuman calm. Odei could've been insulting his mother and the man wouldn't have reacted anymore.

"Why don't you fucking die?!" yelled the Nord enraged. His alcohol was beginning to burn off, causing him to hit the angry-drunk stage. He usually skipped this step when he drank, since he took three steps at a time during his drinking sessions. This was relatively new for him and he didn't like it. He was getting slower.

"YOL TUUR SHUL!" he yelled spewing fire again.

The Imperial blocked this again, splitting it completely in half.

"Are you going to try any new tricks?" asked Ordal calmly. "This is getting fairly repetitive."

Something shifted in the flames and he tried to determine what it was.

Odei bounced through the fire and raised his axe. The Imperial stared at him in awe. His brain had gone into deadlock.

The Nord slashed his axe downward, cutting through his armor. It trailed a long line from the top of his shoulder down to his stomach.

Ordal leaped away and looked down at the wound. It wasn't bleeding too much, but it bothered him that the Nord was able to strike him.

"Perhaps you have gotten faster after all" muttered the Imperial.

"No, you still got slower" joked Odei.

The werewolf hunter looked up at him mildly annoyed. "Release your beast form."

"What?"

"I want to see what these Shouts have done for you. The awakening of your Dragonborn side must be empowering you. Show me your new strength."

Odei snarled. "Don't tell me to use my own stunts creep!"

He swung his axes again, causing the Imperial to block him. The Nord gripped his robe and pushed him backwards.

The berserker smiled, sheathing his weapons. "I'm sorry Ordal. I've kept you waiting for too long. Allow me to show you."

He made two fists, cutting lines into his palms. Then fur began to burst from his back and arms.

He kneeled down and his muscles began to readjust themselves.

His face shape-shifted until it formed into a muzzle of a wolf. His eyes flashed orange and fangs expanded from his gums.

The beastly Odei roared, embracing his power. He seemed bigger, but lacked the bones from before.

"Shame. I was hoping that you would have those bones from when we last fought. But this form will suffice."

Ordal raised his sword, letting it spark to life. "Come on."

The Lycanthrope flew forward, trailing claws into the ground and bringing up sparks. He went as such a fast pace that it seemed unreal.

The Imperial leaped back and braced himself. Putting extreme force into his legs, he cracked the tile beneath him.

He swung his fist and smashed it into Odei. This sent the beast flying backwards in a mass of tumbling fur and flesh.

"Lightning Bolt" he whispered raising his fingers.

The werewolf rolled out of the way and began running back at him.

Ordal put a hand on the ground and back-flipped. It seemed like a superhuman jump, he flew so high into the air.

He landed on the top of the stairs at the end of the room, which led deeper into the wing.

"Are you coming?" asked the werewolf hunter calmly.

Odei stopped and opened his jaws wide. Roaring incredibly loudly, the glass in the windows all around him exploded outwards.

"Hmm" muttered Ordal.

The werewolf leaped forward, exceeding the Imperial's impressive leap. He landed on the railing of the balcony, next to the set of stairs.

Ordal flew out his hand and the door behind him burst open. It revealed an open section of courtyard that wasn't demolished yet.

The Imperial flew out of the door, trailing a blur in the air. Then he vanished.

Odei sprinted into the courtyard, with little thought to Ria or anything else. He had one objective in his beast mind: Defeat Ordal.

He looked around, trying to find him. He couldn't see him, which didn't make much sense. He could smell him thought. His scent was everywhere.

He stopped and looked up. Above him was a massive building, one equal in height to the castle behind him. On top of it was a huge clock tower, one that was made of stone and glass. In front of one of the clocks was Ordal, the glow from the clock face casting a shadow over him.

"It would seem that you are worthy of my effort" stated the Imperial calmly, just loud enough to be heard from so far above. "I will explain something to you."

He lifted a necklace above his head. It was in the shape of two crossing arrows with a bow running underneath them.

"This is a symbol of Lord Hircine's favor" stated the hunter calmly. "While he is the patron lord of Lycanthropes, he has allowed me to remain human for one reason: To fight against the hunters. I am a slayer of Lycanthropes, proving my worthiness and the strength of mankind. I will show you what it means to be human, to not only resist everything mortal, but the will of gods themselves."

He spread his arms and a dark blue aura radiated from his skin. It spread across the courtyard, covering it in clouds of blue. Then they crackled with lightning and blinded Odei from Ordal's form.

The clouds dissipated and the Nord looked up. Then he gasped, even in his beast form.

Standing on the clock tower was Ordal, but he looked different. He had shed his armor and robes, revealing he was wearing simple black pants with his chest bare. In the center of his chest was the symbol of Hircine, burned in black. Along with this symbol was a huge array of lines, like an elaborate pinstripe tattoo that covered his entire chest. His head had a circle of horns on it, in the same shape as his circlet had them. His hair cascaded down to his waist, completely jet-black now. His skin was the same color, but appeared ashy, as if it was made of paper. It was actually segmented and intermingled the black lines on his body.

But the most astonishing part was the three tails behind him. They whipped around him, trialing black shadows across his figure. They looked like scorpion tails, except they were midnight black

"Stand before the hunter of hunters" stated Ordal calmly. His sword was still in his hand, and was now covered in blue lightning.

"Do not flinch. Do not hesitate. I will not do so, so you must not either. I no longer care if you hate me."

Odei braced himself and snarled.

Suddenly a white blur passed his left side and a blue arc covered his vision.

The Nord collapsed, a long line cut across his cheek.

"Impressive" noted Ordal, standing directly behind him. He had moved faster than an eye blink, but still visible to the Lycanthrope. "Your fur is tougher then I imagined. If it wasn't so tough, it wouldn't have deflected the blow to your neck and your head would be in my hands."

The werewolf was completely stunned. He had no idea how he would fight this guy. Blood gushed from his recent wound, pouring down into the stone.

He turned back to him, panting from his wound.

The hunter kept his blank composure, but saw something pleasing in Odei's eyes.

He saw fear.


	22. Chapter 22

**I apologize for the long time it's taking to get this fight out, but I am cramming three different fights into the next couple of chapters. I will probably speed up the posting process, since I'm getting bored of waiting for so long to put this stuff out.**

Ordal looked at his recent quarry with a silent disappointment. "It is a shame. You are so bland now, even in your beast form. You are finally beginning to accept the fact that you are inferior. That I am the hunter, and you are the quarry."

Odei shifted in his werewolf form, feeling his energy begin to die. His recent injuries must've been discouraging the beast from being out.

"If you are wondering why it is so hard to maintain your form, it is because of me" explained the Imperial calmly. "My aura suppresses such supernatural processes, to the point where they die. I do this to you as an act of mercy."

The Lycanthrope collapsed as the transformation began to dissipate. The fur retracted into his skin and his bones readjusted themselves. Then his muzzle disappeared, along with his fangs.

Odei sank to his knees. "Why…do you offer me…mercy?" he gasped still unsteady from his transformation.

Ordal looked at him blankly. "You do not understand. You cannot comprehend why I am the better hunter. So I offer you these chances to flee, so you don't have to find out. Because the only way you'll find out, is if I kill you. So flee. Our differences in strength are too large."

The Nord snarled at him. "Bull shit. I've been holding back a little. Now, you're blessed by Lord Hircine, like me. But I got something else on my side."

He grinned slyly. "Sanguine."

He pulled out his tonic on his staff, which he had somehow retained through the transformation. He popped the cork on it and began pouring it into his mouth.

He gasped as it hit him. It was ice cold, but it burned like magma. It sank into his mouth, making steam rise from him. He made sure not to spill a drop though.

Odei finished and slammed the bottle on the ground. He burped loudly and looked at Ordal. His eyes had changed shades, from a deep blue to a shiny red.

"Good gods you are an ugly son of a bitch" he stated pulling out his axes.

Suddenly he flew at Ordal, doing an odd style of walking. It was like he was jumping on hot coals.

He raised a leg and smashed it into the Imperial.

Ordal was surprised at the blow and blocked it. He spun and his three tails whipped across Odei's chest. They cut parallel lines across his torso, causing blood to geyser in the air.

As soon as he righted himself, he saw that the wounds were already sealing.

"How..?" began Ordal.

Odei smashed his elbow into Ordal's head and punched him in the face. He began doing a rapid series of punches that twisted and circulated in the form. It seemed like he had corkscrews in his arms.

The Nord seamlessly spun and grabbed the Imperial by the waist. Lifting him off the ground, he threw him into a nearby building.

Ordal slammed into a roof and righted himself. The Nord was twice as strong from before, and nearly thrice as quick.

"You got this way from that tonic? What was in that?" he asked curious.

Odei gave a sloppy grin. "Sanguine's personal cocktail. Dwemer oil, nightshade, Daedra blood, and dragon sperm."

He licked his lips. "This stuff is tits man. The alcohol content is so high, they have to add water just to make it appear on a scale."

Ordal kept his face blank. "Your tonic will do you nothing. A calm, collected hunter will defeat a frantic drunk."

"You ever play rugby?" inquired Odei. "Cause if you have, you obviously sucked."

Ordal raised his sword and it arced with lightning. It began to collect at the end, making it appear wider at the tip.

The Imperial swung his sword and a giant wave of energy flowed through the air.

Odei roared and the lightning moved around him. The Nord settled, then yelled, "YOL TUUR SHUL!"

A ball of fire slammed into Ordal, who promptly brushed it aside.

"Hmm. It would seem you have gotten more powerful as well. I think it's time you saw a little something of mine."

He raised his hand and aimed with only one finger. "This is a special spell used by high level Destruction mages. I don't use it, since it can destroy too much. But I think you deserve to see it before you die."

A small ball of lightning congealed at his fingertip, turning a deep blue. It was about the size of a pincushion, or a tangerine.

"Lightning Bomb" he whispered to himself.

The ball forced outwards and smashed into the courtyard. Then it exploded violently, like an explosive.

Odei was thrown back, smashing into a building. He lay in a mound of rubble, energy still whipping past him.

* * *

Fog stood up from the chunks of masonry around him, brushing off the dust. He was surprised that that chick with the lesbian haircut had managed to throw him into another courtyard. He had nearly gotten injured if he hadn't used a special Ward.

Suddenly that lesbian chick was back swinging at him, yelling furiously. She was really starting to annoy him.

He sheathed his dagger and jabbed rapidly into her chest. She gasped and he swung across her jaw. He then punched into her stomach and smashed his forehead into her nose.

Kicking out her legs, he jabbed a boot into her ribcage, pinning her to the ground.

"It's a good think you don't have big breasts, or this would be kinda weird" he stated calmly.

"Shut up!" she ordered, still pinned underneath his foot.

He pressed down, shifting a couple ribs in the process. She groaned and tried to force him off.

"I think it's you who is shutting up" taunted the man adjusting his attire. "It's still a shame you're an obvious lesbian. I would have great fun with you. Wait, I can still do something with you. As long as I convince that other one. Where is she by the way?"

He looked up and an arrow flew at his face. He moved slightly to the left and it whizzed past his ear.

"Ah, there you are sweetness" he said chucking. He pushed harder with his boot and cracked a few of Njada's ribs. He then got off her and looked at Aela.

"It would see your lesbian friend here isn't doing so well" he stated rather calmly. "I hate to injure such a pretty woman like you, but I can't defy my orders. It's not in my nature."

The huntress didn't even speak, just notching another arrow and firing.

Fog calmly sidestepped and unveiled two daggers from his coat. He then reached Aela and posed in a weird state.

He lowered his left hand and put up his right knee off the ground. Putting down his right arm above his head, he looked at her straight in the eyes.

"Viper Strike" he whispered to himself.

He then stabbed her rapidly in the chest. While he did so, he spun and whirled like a top. He did so with an odd, extended reach and laid back style, similar to Crane-Snake style.

He then began to speed up.

He leaped into the air and appeared behind her. He then began to stab blindly, but still hit her completely.

Fog crouched down and slashed upwards. This sent a long line trailing from Aela's stomach to her collar.

He then twirled multiple times, sending an array of lines across her face and neck. Then he stopped.

He gripped his right dagger and slashed.

It connected with her forehead and released a massive geyser of blood. She collapsed, bleeding from a variety of spots on her body.

Fog sighed and wiped the blood from his mask. "Don't mess with a viper."

* * *

Vilkas readied his broadsword and swung. It cleaved into Boraq's leg and cut through the muscles and tendons.

"Ugh, you sonofabitch bug!" exclaimed the man swinging his fist. "Why don't you all just stand still?!"

Farkas stood and flared his arms. "How about now?"

Boraq didn't even pause. He swung at him, roaring as he did so.

The warrior raised his broadsword and placed his palm on the flat of it.

The giant's fist smashed into the blade and crushed the earth under both of them. It rocked Farkas, but didn't break him.

Boraq stared at him in wonder and the warrior yelled a battle cry.

Farkas twirled his sword and stabbed into Boraq's foot, hitting the stone below and embedding in it.

The giant let out a cry of agony and Vilkas charged.

The legionary swung his sword and hit Boraq's other knee. Leaping onto him, he ran up his back and got to his neck.

Vilkas drew a short sword and stabbed it into the giant's head.

Boraq roared and tried to throw him off. He pulled his foot out of the ground, taking Farkas's sword with him, and tried to smash Vilkas into a building.

Farkas drew a sword and tried to predict where the giant would step.

Boraq slammed his back into a wall, pinning Vilkas as well. The legionary didn't let up though, like he barely felt it.

The giant stumbled forward and stopped. Then he began to gasp blood.

Farkas had stabbed him directly in the eye with his sword, holding it far above his head.

The giant collapsed, bleeding ferociously from his neck and eye socket.

Farkas withdrew his second sword and looked at his brother. Vilkas was lying on top of the corpse's back, his sword embedded into his neck.

"Brother, you okay?" asked the warrior mildly curious.

Vilkas nodded. "Yeah, I'm cool."

They looked at each other and laughed.

"Just like old times right?" asked Farkas.

"Yeah" confirmed Vilkas smiling.

They both began to try to get one of their comrades when they heard something.

"Oh shi…" began Farkas.

"RAAAAAGH!" roared Boraq smashing his fist between them. It cracked the stones and sent them both flying.

The giant didn't look so good. His eye was spouting blood, but he stood tall. Obviously he was tougher than most people. He could still move and his eye appeared to be repairing itself. It was still a hole, but it was patching up the split blood vessels.

"BRING IT!" yelled the giant spreading his arms.

Vilkas snarled. "Damn it. We need to at least get to Odei. The girls can handle themselves."

Farkas raised his sword. "Let's get wild."


	23. Chapter 23

Farkas and Vilkas sprinted past Boraq, trailing their swords into the courtyard. They slashed across his legs and turned back to face him simultaneously. Spinning, they leaped into the air and cut into his shoulders. They landed at the same time and readied their weapons. It was like they were one man with two bodies.

"Now it's really like old times" muttered Farkas.

"Aye" replied Vilkas.

Boraq grabbed the dragon skull on his head and lifted it off. Looking at it affectionately, he smashed his fist into it.

He dropped his right arm with the skull still on it. It appeared he had made some kind of bone gauntlet from the skull.

"You damn bugs are really beginning to piss me off" he said flaring his eyes. "I'm gonna beat you so bad there won't be anything left to bury."

"Good. I ain't going in the dirt anyway" stated Farkas running with his brother.

They dodged his strike and sliced into his chest. Then they abandoned their weapons and began to tear with their bare hands.

Farkas pulled through the torn skin and peeled into the chest cavity. He gripped a pair of ribs and pulled them clean out. Digging his gauntlets into the soft, squishy organs, he yanked out something that looked like a spleen.

Vilkas punched clean through the left side of the ribcage and hit some weird fleshy thing. Closer inspection revealed he had punctured a lung with his fist.

"Get off me!" ordered the giant trying to grab them. However, their grips on his insides were keeping them fastened to him. Ew.

"Ha, ha! I got the lymph node!" yelled Farkas.

"Bitch please! This here is a collection of vagus nerves!" taunted Vilkas.

The younger brother grinned and yanked something clean out. It pulsated with blood and covered his entire torso in it. "Heh, got the heart!"

Boraq stared at him horrified, then his eyes narrowed. Grabbing the back of his shirt, he threw him into a building.

Farkas looked up at the giant amazed. It was slowly walking towards him, organs flopping out his open chest and blood pooling beneath him. Despite the injuries, the giant didn't even seem dazed.

"I'm gonna kill you!" roared Boraq enraged. "Nobody takes my fucking organs you sick bastards!"

Suddenly Vilkas appeared, swinging his sword. He was completely red in the face, a glare in his eyes.

He sliced upwards and cut through Boraq's arm. The giant roared in pain and collapsed to his knees.

The elder brother gripped the giant's shirt and threw him onto the ground. Leaping onto his back, he raised his sword high.

"DIE!" bellowed Vilkas carving downwards.

His sword cut clean through the giant's neck and separated the head from the body.

Boraq flopped to the ground and his head rolled away. It didn't look like he survived that.

Farkas nodded firmly. "Nice."

He grunted. "I'm too injured by his last throw. I'll stay here and rest up a bit."

Vilkas nodded. "I'll go find Odei. I have no doubts that he isn't doing well."

* * *

Njada stood, holding a healing spell to her ribs. She hadn't been injured too much with Fog's stomp, but it had dazed her.

"Aela! Are you OK?" she asked stumbling over to her.

The huntress was lying in a pool of blood, bleeding from a hundred wounds on her frame. It was like she had been hit by a whirlwind of blades. Her eyes were closed and she barely had a pulse.

"Come on, you have to get up" ordered the warmaiden. "I can't kill this guy without you."

Fog appeared, standing on top of a statue. He was observing her trying to get Aela back on her feet.

"It's too late" stated the Silver Hand assassin. "My strike was too powerful. If she hasn't bled out by now, she will in a matter of seconds. I hit her a hundred times. Exactly one hundred. No one can stand up from such an assault."

Njada pulled out a small potion. It was pure rabbit blood.

"Sorry Aela. But I have to get you up" she whispered rubbing her head. Then she popped open the bottle and waved it under her nose.

The huntress breath in the blood fumes and something in her shifted. Then she opened her mouth and began to breathe.

As soon as she did so, Njada poured the blood down her throat. Aela struggled against the flow, but the warmaiden made her swallow.

"Forgive me" she muttered pouring more of the blood.

The bottle grew empty and Njada threw it away. Then she backed up and waited for the response.

The huntress's eyes flew open and Aela sat up. Her eyes were glowing crimson red and the circles around her eyes were huge.

"Blood" she murmured through the potion. It was practically pouring down her chest and staining her clothes and skin.

She turned to Njada, who stiffened. She saw clean through her and turned to Fog. Her eyes widened and she licked her lips. When she did so, her teeth were exposed. Her canines were huge and cut into the lower teeth.

"Prey" she gurgled.

"Oh boy" muttered Fog.

The huntress arced her back and fur burst from her back and chest. It spread to her limbs, causing them to grow talons. She roared into the sky and extended into a muzzle. It was far faster than most and was incredibly violent for a transformation.

Njada backed up, making sure she wasn't in the wake. She had been given this potion from Vilkas, who said it could be used to rush a transformation. It was, however, incredibly dangerous and a victim couldn't be stopped without excessive force.

The bestial Aela sprinted at Fog, claws cutting clean through the stone.

The assassin leaped off the statue and the werewolf smashed through it.

Fog landed and twirled his daggers. He obviously wasn't messing around now.

Aela swiped with her claws and just missed him. He responded with a quick three stabs and stepped backwards. While he was serious, he treated it like a dance.

"Finally, some fun!" yelled Fog excited. Obviously he didn't mean to be completely stoic.

The Lycanthrope charged him and knocked him clean off his feet. Rolling on the ground, he just barely dodged a stomp to his head.

Getting back to his feet, Fog smashed a palm into the ground. He leaned forward and flew towards Aela.

The whirling assassin smashed into her chest and sent her reeling back. He shifted from side-to-side and delivered a series of jabs into her torso.

The werewolf swung and sliced through his robe. Blood flew from the wound, staining his clothes.

Fog barely flinched and grabbed her jaw. Twirling into the air, he flipped her head over heels.

Smashed his foot into her downed head, he grabbed her arm and began to pull. The ligaments holding them together began to tear, practically stretching her apart.

"Come on. Break" ordered the assassin.

The Lycanthrope turned and swung.

The claw cleaved through the lower section of his mask and shattered the upper part. It sent chunks of the stone flying through the air, shattering when it hit the ground.

Fog backed up stunned, holding the exposed parts of his face. He was bleeding profusely, but one part of his head was still visible. It revealed a long black tattoo wrapping around his left eye, which consisted of a simple series of lines.

Aela looked into his eyes and stopped. It was like she was paralyzed. Even when fueled by rage, his gaze was too powerful. He had this look, a look like hers. Like he wanted to extinguish all life everywhere. The eyes of a man who is still looking for something to satisfy himself with.

"Clever girl" he muttered speaking without the mask. He talked like a young man, possibly not even full grown. This explained the smoothness and roundness of his face.

"I will be back. One way or another" stated Fog backing up. "And when I do, you all will be sorry. Not just the Companions. Everyone."

He chuckled, spitting blood onto his hands. "I hope you can figure a way to stop this transformation. Or you're going to kill your friend. Decisions, decisions."

He lifted a hand from his face, revealing his other eye. He waved at her tauntingly, still not showing his mouth and jaw. "Tatty bye."

He took a step backwards and disappeared completely.

Njada looked at Aela and realized the transformation wouldn't let up. That was the side effect of the potion. It completely rifled the beast inside to the point where the inner person didn't matter.

The warmaiden ran over to the werewolf and jabbed a needle into her neck. This one was dipped into a white liquid that looked like milk.

Aela's body tensed, then she collapsed onto the ground.

Fur sank back into her skin and her face began to move back. Her eyes slowly began to shit from crimson red to sharp hazel.

"Thank the Divines" muttered Njada leaning back. "So glad that shit works. I hope the others are alright. I gotta make sure this stuff goes through the full cycle."


	24. Chapter 24

Vilkas sprinted into the castle, trying to figure out where Odei had gone. If he was correct, Ria's scream had come from the west wing. Best place to start anyway.

While he ran, he noted the interior of the castle. There seemed to be no one at home, like it had been abandoned. Obviously it wasn't a regularly maintained castle, or everyone was having a sick day.

"Wait, there were five members of the Grey" he reminded himself. "I've seen at least two in the courtyard. Where are the other three?"

He decided to move faster. He couldn't risk losing Odei or Ria.

He made it to the west wing and saw that a huge battle had happened here. Several pillars in the room were destroyed and there were multiple holes in the walls.

"Damn. Did Odei do all this?" he murmured to himself.

He turned and saw that someone was huddling in the corner. He recognized the person instantly.

"Ria!" he exclaimed relived.

She looked up at him. "Vilkas! You have to help!"

He nodded. "Where's Odei?"

"Out in the courtyard."

"Which one?"

"Follow me."

Suddenly someone flew from the far side of the room and landed between Vilkas and Ria. This was someone neither had seen before. He had long black hair that flowed in the air as he landed. His mouth was covered in a steel visor that wrapped around his head. He appeared to be a Bosmer, since he also possessed the racial muscularity.

"I can't allow you to interrupt Ordal's fight" stated the Elf calmly. "However, I will gladly give you something to fight."

He drew a huge broadsword from his back and sank into a battle stance. "So kill me, then you can go to your friend."

Vilkas growled. "Fine."

They ran at each other and the Bosmer leaped over him, Landing smoothly, he spun with his sword.

Vilkas deflected the spinning blade and sank his knee into the Elf's stomach. Gripping his shirt, he threw him across the room.

The Bosmer rolled and smashed into a pillar. He stood up and glared at him. Only then did he reveal that his eyes were mismatched, like a calico cat.

"Hmm. I might just have some fun" muttered Keinar smiling to himself.

He then raised a hand and spewed a solid stream of ice at Vilkas.

The Nord dodged and threw a secondary sword.

The Bosmer ducked and blasted another wave of ice.

The Companion cut through it with his broadsword and charged Keinar.

The Elf raised his huge sword and they caught each other's' attacks.

"You're fast" complimented Keinar. "And strong. I am going to enjoy this fight."

Vilkas didn't comment and swiped with his leg. The Bosmer leaped over it and put his foot into the Nord's stomach.

Yelling, he kicked Vilkas so hard he flew backwards.

The Nord smashed into a wall and blocked the strike to his head. Growling, he spun and sliced into Keinar's side.

The Bosmer stepped backwards and raised his sword.

Suddenly it exploded, covering itself in ice. It spread to the tip and expanded, forming a huge crystalline structure on his weapon.

"I know your Nord blood gives you resistance to frost magic" stated Keinar calmly. "But this is far more than just magic. It's a solid chunk of ice coming at your heart."

He swung it, making it shine brightly. "So let's see what your blood does to this."

* * *

Ordal calmly stepped to the mound of rubble, looking rather disappointed. Somewhere deep in that pile was Odei, his opponent.

"It's a shame. You were actually fairly interesting" stated the werewolf hunter walking to his presumed corpse. "I was beginning to think maybe you had a chance. But my Lightning Bomb was too powerful obviously. Oh well. I might as well bury you. I heard something about that being tradition for Nords."

He stopped when he heard something in the rubble shift.

"Hmm. So you are not dead. How interesting."

The tails behind the Imperial whipped in excitement, but the host kept his composure. "Are you going to get yourself out of that pile, or will I have to drag you out?"

His question was answered when Odei managed to crawl out from under the debris. He had several cuts in his face and he didn't look too good. Regardless, he stood, holding his twin axes loosely.

"You are finished. It would be foolish to continue. I advise you to flee. I will allow you to leave. I don't want to kill you."

Odei began to walk towards him, growling while he did so. He wasn't drunk like before, but he obviously was having trouble thinking.

"So resilient. Even after the showing of my strength, you still think you can win. This is…difficult for me to understand."

The Imperial lowered his head. "Is it because of this thing called love? Is that the thing that lets you get up and fight again? I still will not understand you, but I will listen. "

"It's a bit of that" gasped Odei collapsing to his knees. "There's something else too."

Ordal looked at him curiously, waiting for his response.

"I don't want to win this fight" admitted the Nord.

He looked up at him. "I fight because I _have_ to win. I will defeat you Ordal."

The Imperial narrowed his eyes. "How foolish."

He grabbed him and lifted him off his feet. "Odei. Those are the words of a man who doesn't understand what a true hunter is."

Magicka burst from his skin and began to wrap around the Imperial. His eyes changed color to a flashing blue.

"Allow me to show you."

Another tail burst from his back and Ordal gripped Odei tighter. Pulling his arm back, he threw the Nord upwards.

The Dragonborn flew through the air, up the vertical tower behind him. He looked down and saw that Ordal was giving chase. He was climbing the wall by sinking his tails into the stone, acting like grapples.

"YOL TUUR SHUL!" yelled Odei.

The fireball wrapped around Ordal, but did not hurt him.

"You are a fool Odei" stated the Imperial calmly. "You wish to fight a foe whose power you cannot even comprehend. I doubt even love would justify this argument."

He smashed into Odei and threw him upwards again.

The Nord rolled up the wall and landed on the roof. He coughed up blood and looked up at the moon.

Suddenly something appeared in front of the full moon, blocking it completely.

That something flew down to Odei and smashed into his chest. He felt it puncture four different points in his ribs and he spat blood.

Ordal looked down at him. "If you fight me because of this love, then perhaps love is something I don't want to remember."

He gripped the Nord by the shirt. "You are done."


	25. Chapter 25

Vilkas spun and deflected Keinar's furious strike. Backing up, he began to think.

"Crap. This guy is faster with that ice on his sword. I need to get the ice off or just kill him."

He smashed his foot into the floor, and punched the Bosmer in the chest.

Keinar flew backwards and landed in a heap.

Vilkas ran at him and smashed his sword in the icicle blade.

A chunk of ice splintered off, but the sword remained intact.

"Think that's what's making me fast?" asked the Elf tauntingly. "I'm normally this fast. I slowed down before."

He raised his leg and kicked the Companion in the chest.

Vilkas stumbled back and Keinar leaped to his feet. Twirling his sword, he flicked it against the ground.

A geyser of ice released from the end of the sword and traveled across the floor. It moved over to Vilkas, spiking itself up from the carpet.

Vilkas smashed the ridge of ice and sprinted to Keinar. He lit a flames spell and let it travel across his sword.

Swinging his new flaming sword, he boiled through the ice nearby.

Keinar blocked the attack and noted his now melting ice sword. He calmly intensified his magicka and the ice exploded back.

"It's pointless. I am far more skilled at this then you. My ice can't melt with simple Destruction spells."

"Who said this was a simple Destruction spell?" countered Vilkas.

The Bosmer's eyes widened and the Nord put a hand over his mouth.

Inhaling deeply, he spewed fire from his palm onto Keinar.

The Elf leaped back and tossed off his coat. Enhancing the ice edges, he smiled at his opponent. "You are fairly skilled in Destruction. For a warrior."

Vilkas nodded. "You're not bad in swordsmanship. For an Elf."

Something appeared behind Keinar, someone the Nord didn't recognize.

The Bosmer turned. Obviously he did.

"Yengi. Why are you interrupting my fight?"

The man looked at him blankly. He wore a gold crown on his head that accented with his brown hair. His eyes were white, like too moons. He appeared to be an Imperial judging by his skin tone. "We have to go. There are other preparations to make."

"I thought we lured them here to kill them all?"

"We did. But our plans are already in place. Even if they survive, they will not find us. Let's get going."

Keinar nodded and pushed Vilkas back.

The Companion raised his sword, but the Bosmer sheathed his. The ice crusted off and fell to the floor as he did so.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go" stated the Elf almost depressed. "I hope to fight you later on, but I guess there are other things to fight."

Yengi readjusted his crown and grabbed his fellow by the arm. "Let's get going."

They both disappeared into a flurry of ash and Vilkas sighed. "Damn it. Another one who got away."

He turned to Ria. "Where was Odei again?"

"That way" she said pointing.

"Let's get going. I'm getting tired of people just straight-up leaving me."

They ran to the hole in the wall where Ordal and Odei had gone through. Vilkas noted the amount of energy that was flowing from the courtyard outside and shuddered.

"Akatosh. Is Odei doing some of this?" muttered Vilkas. "It's intense. I knew a Dragonborn was powerful, but this is nearly suffocating."

He walked out into the courtyard and looked around. "No, it isn't Odei's aura. His is more of a warm feeling."

He shuddered. "This feels like cold death."

Ria looked around, desperately trying to find her lover. She couldn't see any sign of him, like he had disappeared.

"Where is he?" she asked gazing intently.

"I'm not sure. I can't even smell him" noted Vilkas sniffing the air.

They all stopped when they felt something above them. They both turned and looked up.

Standing on top of one of the tallest towers was Ordal. He had changed dramatically, getting white skin and black markings. The tails he had whipping around him were also new, but the main point of interest was the thing one of his tails was holding.

Odei hung from one of the Imperial's tails, gripped by the torso. He appeared to be unconscious, and not breathing.

"Odei…" murmured Ria.

Ordal looked at them, keeping his blank composure. "So you arrived woman."

He looked back at Odei. "Perfect timing. Observe."

He lifted the Dragonborn to be floating into the air. Below him was the courtyard, about fifteen stories down.

"Watch carefully" he said concentrating. "The man whom you gave all your love…is about to die."

He let Odei go, letting the Dragonborn fall.

Odei fell, his hair whipping past him. He didn't even react, which confirmed the fact that he was unconscious.

Ordal aimed his left hand and a small ball of magicka formed at his finger.

Ria instantly knew what he was doing.

"Don't!" she yelled desperately.

Ordal fired his Lightning Bomb.

The ball of magicka smashed into Odei and exploded violently. The Dragonborn flew even faster and smashed into the courtyard.


	26. Chapter 26

Ria stared at the impact crater in horror, not believing what she saw.

"NO!" she screamed into the sky.

She rushed over to his side, hoping to heal him.

Ordal appeared on the wall a few meters above them, keeping himself supported with his tails.

"It's pointless. But now I am fairly certain that love is causing your actions. I still do not understand why, or what love is."

She stared at the corpse of her lover in disbelief. He had a charred mark all over his torso, but he wasn't bleeding. The wound had completely cauterized itself when it had occurred. It appeared that it reached all the way to his ribcage and possible beyond.

"Odei" she whispered to herself.

"Didn't I tell you it was pointless? It…"

Suddenly Vilkas appeared, swinging his sword. Judging by the fire surrounding the blade, he had set it on fire again.

He smashed into Ordal and they collapsed into the courtyard.

Vilkas raised his fist and smashed it into the Imperial's face. Raising it again, he swung.

Ordal grabbed his arm and threw him behind him. Standing up, the Imperial dusted himself off.

"Weird. I thought you were one of the calmest Companions" stated the werewolf hunter curiously.

"I am calm. Sort of" replied Vilkas. "I am just stalling time for Odei to get back up."

"I thought I already told you that you can't do anything to save him."

"Keep telling yourself that."

Vilkas leaped at Ordal, swinging his flaming sword. The Imperial calmly began blocking him, not even alarmed at his aggression.

"I hope you are more entertaining then you seem Companion."

* * *

Ria stared at Odei, trying to figure out what she could do. She had already put a healing spell on him, but the wound in his chest wouldn't heal. It was technically healed, but it was keeping him dead. And she couldn't allow it.

"You can't die here. You can't" she begged feeling tears fall from her eyes.

She looked to her left and saw that Vilkas was furiously striking at Ordal. Despite his speed, not a single strike went through.

She looked back at Odei, noting his eyes. They were open and hollow, like a dead man's.

"I have to get you up" she whispered. "At any cost."

* * *

Vilkas blocked an incoming strike and blasted a fireball at Ordal.

The Imperial moved his head and just missed the fireball. "Are you done yet? I am growing bored of you."

The Nord growled and swung again.

Ordal grabbed the sword, instantly extinguishing the flames. He gripped it and threw Vilkas into a wall.

Smashing through the wall, the Companion landed in a pile of rubble. He began to pant, trying to figure out a strategy. This guy was even faster than Keinar, and twice as strong.

"I gotta think. Odei needs time to get up" he reminded himself.

He raised his left and began charging a fireball.

Then Ordal grasped his arm.

"So you fire with this arm?" asked the werewolf hunter calmly.

Vilkas turned to stare at him in wonder. The Imperial had moved instantly, like an eye blink.

Then Ordal snapped his arm at the elbow joint.

* * *

Ria looked up in horror and saw that Vilkas had collapsed. His left arm was smoking and broken in multiple pieces. He looked exhausted, so much that he couldn't even look up.

Ordal walked back to Odei's body, his tails flipping around him.

"It is a shame of what it happened here. I had hoped not to kill any of you" stated the Imperial almost sad. "But I should've known better then to trust a hope."

He walked over to Odei's corpse and looked down. He stared into his lifeless eyes and sighed. "Since they insist you are still alive, I must now destroy your corpse."

He pointed his hand and aimed it at the Dragonborn. "My condolences."

"Don't!" yelled Ria too afraid to stop him.

Vilkas appeared again, his left arm hanging uselessly at his side. He had shifted to a single sword, trying his best to stop Ordal.

The Imperial blocked the desperate strike with his arm and snapped his tail into Vilkas. Smashing him into the courtyard, he stood over the Companion.

"But first, I will deal with the living" he muttered aiming his Lightning Bomb again.

Ria felt tears come to her eyes. They had literally no options to go by. They were all going to die here.

The tears spilled down her face and she tried the most desperate thing she could imagine.

"Get up Odei!" she screamed desperately. Hoping he would wake up.

* * *

_Odei felt something in his mind shift. He was floating in a pool of darkness, trying to find himself. He couldn't feel, but he could hear and see what was going on around him._

"_She is calling for me" he whispered to himself. "She needs me."_

_He felt something in his chest move, like a spark had been lit. He let it flare, hoping it would bring him back to life. He was literally floating in limbo and would die if he couldn't revive himself._

"_Get up" he ordered his own body forcibly. "She needs me!"_

_He heard her scream again and his blood coursed again. He tightened his fists._

"_Get up! Stupid body!" he yelled inside his head._

_He felt her tears hit his face and the spark in his chest spread to his head. There it exploded and took over rather quickly. _

"_Here we come Ria" he muttered to himself._

* * *

Odei's body shuddered and the hole in his chest began to patch up. It regrew skin and tissue rapidly, filling the space that was empty. Blood began to circulate again, and his heart beat stronger than an ox.

The Dragonborn sat up rapidly, his eyes flashing red. He gritted his teeth, feeling this new experience take over.

"Zu fen lok hio! (I will save you!)" he yelled letting the feeling spread to his face and arms.

He leaped to his feet, glaring at Ordal.

The Imperial noted his presence with mild disbelief. "It would appear they were correct."

The Dragonborn roared and two things burst from his back. They spread outwards, growing to a length of three feet.

He glanced at them and noticed they were wings. They appeared to be made of a simple muscle group and bones, similar to an average bird wing.

When the wings came out, something burst from his skin that wasn't blood. It was a clear liquid that had a particular strong musk.

"Alcohol" noted Ordal slightly astonished.

Suddenly the liquid burst into flames, covering Odei's wings in fire. They spread to his back and chest, but did not extend any farther. It gave him the appearance of a flaming imp or demon.

"Hmm. Impressive. Your Dragonborn abilities have improved vastly."

He raised his sword, which he promptly covered in lightning. "Show me what you have been given."


	27. Chapter 27

**Now, I am fairly certain I know what is going on with my story. I realize that it is declining at a fairly rapid rate (my opinion, not any of yours) so I've decided to get as much details out as possible. Not to mention I got plenty of other stories in que and I despise waiting. So this story and the Orc's will be accelerated at a rapid rate. This does not mean it won't at least be interesting. But I myself am getting tired of staring at these guys for so damn long.**

Odei glared at Ordal, his eyes flashing. He didn't speak, but his look said it all. His eyes were full with hate and anger, not to mention the flames were roaring wildly.

"Your form is impressive, I must say" stated the Imperial blankly. "It certainly shows me that you are not done in this fight."

He twirled his lightning sword and readied himself. "Now I will not show you mercy. I have given you enough chances."

Then he flew forward, trailing his sword into the ground.

Odei extended his arm and strong-armed the werewolf hunter off his feet.

Grabbing Ordal, the Nord smashed him into the courtyard.

The Imperial narrowed his eyes and aimed his hand at his opponent's head.

"Lightning Bomb" he said charging the lightning in his hand.

The bomb smashed into Odei's head and sent him flying backwards. Landing on a rooftop, the Nord snarled and his flames flared in excitement.

Ordal got up and dusted himself off. "You're fast" he noted slightly surprised. "And strong. I guess your Dragonborn powers are truly worthy of legends."

He paused. "Or perhaps… is it because that woman called for your aid? Did this love of yours cause you to become even more powerful?"

Odei didn't answer.

"So this power has concealed your inner personality? Perhaps that is best. It will make it easier to kill you."

The Nord extended his hands and his axes flew towards him. They sailed into his hands and burst into flames.

"Hmm. It seems you have drawn your weapons. Time to finish off the prey" muttered the Imperial twirling his sparking blade.

They flew at each and clashed, exploding in a wave of magicka. The two were equally strong, but one of their elements was stronger.

Odei roared in anger and slashed with his axe. It cleaved in Ordal's arm and split it from the shoulder.

The Imperial leaped back and looked at his severed arm. "Hmm. That's an impressive strike."

The Nord wasn't attacking, too busy gazing into his opponent in curiosity.

Ordal looked at him and sighed. "You won't beat me if you wait for so long."

He lifted his arm and it began to regenerate. It was like a mudslide going up his arm, revealing more of it as it formed.

He stretched his newest arm and raised his sword. "Show me you are Dragonborn. You are the Dragonborn of Intoxication. Prove this."

Odei smiled, revealing his teeth were sharp and angular. His eyes were jagged and his hair was on edge, forming a spiky layer on his head.

"STRUM BAH QO!" roared the Dragonborn embracing his inner power.

The sky darkened with clouds and it began to rain. Thunder roared through the sky and lightning began to course through the clouds.

The Nord raised a hand and a bolt of lightning shot into it. He gripped the bolt and it formed into a gauntlet over his arm. He then flew at Ordal, raising his electrical hand.

The Imperial blocked the strike and grabbed the lightning arm. He looked Odei in the arm and the spell stopped dead.

"Pathetic" muttered Ordal calmly. "Your abilities with fire are impressive, but lightning is not your strong suit."

He moved back and raised an arm. "Allow me to show you a proper lightning technique."

An arc of lightning flew at him and he caught it smoothly. Gripping the bolt tightly, he made it into a large spear-shaped line in his hands.

He raised the spear and threw it at Odei.

The spear exploded mid-air and sent Odei sliding down the courtyard. Only a huge wall at the other end managed to stop his slide.

"Hmm. I missed" noted Ordal disappointed. "My aim is not too well with that technique."

Odei got up, his face bleeding. His fire was burning down, and he didn't know what to do. Granted he wasn't all the way there, since he had been taken over by his Dragonborn spirit.

He looked over at Ria, and was reminded of what he said. She was staring at him wide-eyed, gazing at the sheer power he had. Not to mention how bad he was being beaten.

"Zu fen lok hio! (I will save you!)" he yelled again. Then he grabbed his arm and tore into a vein.

The same clear fluid from before gushed from his arm and he quickly put it to his mouth. Sucking his own blood, he began to feel it burn in his skin.

The alcohol hit him like a ton of bricks, but he kept drinking. Because of his regenerative abilities, he had to reopen the wound multiple times to keep it coming.

When he had thought it satisfactory, he let his arm heal and gazed at Ordal. His vision was fuzzy, but now he was in his natural environment.

He lifted his hands and began to Shout.

"YOL TUUR SHUL!" he roared into his hands.

The fire flew from his mouth, but kept inside of his palms. He did it again and the flames began to compress in his hands. It formed a small ball about the size of a large pumpkin, perfectly maintained with magicka.

Ordal stared at him in amazement. "How does he Shout so many times? Has it fully taken over?"

He narrowed his eyes. "No matter."

He raised his hand and another lightning bolt flew into it. Doing the same thing with the previous bolt, he made a spear and readied himself.

"Let us finally see who the hunter is" stated Ordal raising his spear. They ran at each other, bringing their respective elements to the fight.

"RAAAGH!" yelled Odei raising his fireball.

"Hmm" muttered the Imperial.

They slammed into each other and the elements exploded violently, forming a huge dust cloud in the courtyard, making it impossible to see.


	28. Chapter 28

Ordal stood from the smoking courtyard, his back turned from Odei. The fireball had torn off his left arm and nearly destroyed his entire side. He had several ribs showing and was gushing blood.

"It appears you have done great damage to me" he muttered calmly assessing his wounds. They were already beginning to seal up, but he knew the total damage.

"My internal organs, for the most part, are gone forever. But I sense the damage I did to you, and I know I won."

Odei coughed blood and collapsed in the courtyard. He had an immense hole in his right side and was missing a good chunk of his sternum.

The wings on his back began to burn off, disappearing into golden flicks of light. His eyes shifted back into their original green and his skin color turned to normal.

"Odei!" yelled Ria running to him.

Odei hit the floor and appeared to black out.

She ran over to him and looked at him. He looked to be unconscious.

"He is finished" said Ordal calmly. "My blow was far too internal for him to survive. He is…"

He stopped when the Nord's golden specks began to shift into the hole in his chest, filling the inside. As it did so, the hole began to seal back up, like it never even happened.

Ria stared at the sight in wonder, amazed that Odei was regenerating even now.

The Dragonborn sat up, startling his lover beside him. He looked fine, but something was off. It was like he had just woken up from a long dream.

"What…happened?" he murmured to himself.

He looked around. "When did I destroy all this?"

He turned to Ria. "Are you…okay?"

She nodded and smiled at him.

He returned it and felt his sternum. "Didn't I…die?"

"You did" stated Ordal calmly.

Odei turned and looked at his foe in surprise. "Ordal…"

The Imperial grabbed the Nord's axes and tossed them to him.

"Let us finish this fight" stated Ordal picking up his sword. This time, he didn't cover it in lightning.

Odei looked at his weapons, then at the Imperial.

"Did I do that to you?" he asked pointing to his foe's destroyed left side.

"Irrelevant" replied Ordal.

"Did I also go berserk on you?" pressed the Dragonborn.

"Perhaps."

He raised his sword, but not before a drop of rain hit his fist. Then it began to dissolve his skin, turning it into a dark mud color.

They all gasped at this, but Ordal looked at it calmly.

"I am more gone then I imagined" he muttered to himself.

More raindrops hit his skin, dissolving it further. The Imperial sighed and looked at his opponent.

"It's a shame. You were…alright. I will miss you, and your lover. Whatever that word means."

Odei began to sob, mostly in frustration.

"I…I didn't want to kill you Ordal!" yelled the Dragonborn. "You…you can't die!"

He shook his head. "But yet I am dying. For that is the end we all must face. I remember that much."

He looked down and stared at his ring. He still had no memories of it, of who gave it to him or why.

He looked over at Ria and Odei, and noted the way they held each other. They were in love, as they called it. He still had no idea what that meant.

He extended a hand to Ria, keeping his blank face.

"Do you hate me woman?" he asked looking deep into her eyes.

Ria looked at him and felt a single tear form in her eye. She paused, but knew her answer.

"I don't hate you" she said beginning to cry. "I don't hate you."

Ordal sighed, then he gave a small smile.

"I remember" he murmured looking at his ring.

Ria gasped and extended a hand to grasp his.

As soon as she touched him, his hand collapsed into mud. She looked into his eyes, but he appeared different. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"I remember. Yes I do" he muttered to himself even as the ring fell to the ground.

His back began to go and he closed his eyes.

"I remember who gave me this ring. It was a gift…"

He finally began to fully disintegrate, his upper body and legs going into the ground. Even then the two Companions heard his last words.

"…from the one I loved."


	29. Chapter 29

The Companions looked at the funeral pyre in sadness, tears forming on multiple eyes. They had decided to send Kodlak off like a true Companion: by setting him ablaze in the Skyforge.

Eorlund looked over at Odei, who had been elected as the newest Harbinger for courage in battle. He nodded to him, a signal.

Odei walked to the front of the crowd, completely sober. His wounds had recovered, but he still looked miserable.

"Hail the victorious dead!" he cried.

"Hail the victorious dead!" repeated the crowd of Companions.

Odei grabbed the torch beside him and lit the funeral pyre. Kodlak's body began to burn slowly, sending its ashes into the air.

Ria was beside him, crying softly. She stared in the heart of the fire, then began to sing, in a voice as soft and beautiful as a breeze of summer air.

"_Deep in the meadows,_

_A wild stag roamed free._

_It flew from plain to plain,_

_And sea to shining sea._

_It had been tested,_

_Battered and beaten red._

_But whatever the stag faced,_

_It never went dead._

_One day the stag,_

_Faced a clever foe._

_This man notched his weapon,_

_And fired his bow._

_The arrow sailed,_

_As fast as the light._

_It hit the noble stag,_

_And sent him from our sight."_

She began to sob, not able to continue. Odei draped an arm around her and hugged her close.

Aela nodded at her, appreciating the gesture. It was a good song used in the burial of fine men such as Kodlak.

Vilkas cleared his throat and continued. Traditionally this part of the song was for the male of the group anyway.

"_Deep in the sky,_

_This stag still sprints far._

_It sails through the night,_

_Passing by the stars._

_It lives in our hearts,_

_Never ceasing its run._

_Run, run noble stag,_

_Until we join you as one."_

The Companions all bowed their heads in respect, letting the silence overtake the meeting. Slowly they began to walk off, paying their respects to Kodlak's pyre.

Finally, only the members of the Circle remained. Only Aela was not crying, having shed her share of tears long ago.

"We need to find who did this" spat Farkas angered. "They deserve to pay."

"Of course they do" replied Vilkas. "But we must do one final thing."

Aela glared at him. "You wouldn't."

"Kodlak died before he could fulfill his wish. He wanted to be rid of the beast blood. And he…we failed in delivering that dream."

"It's impossible. It can't be done" stated Aela angrily.

"Perhaps not" responded Odei. "Perhaps he left some notes on the subject? I'd be glad to check."

"Good idea" said Farkas. He knew good ideas since they usually popped in front of his face. "Go see if Kodlak said anything in his journal."

* * *

Odei walked downstairs, dodging the grieving people in the mead hall. He was technically the new Harbinger, but he didn't have time to talk. He was on a mission. The affairs of the living had been dealt with. Now the dead had to be dealt with.

He reached the old man's room and he walked inside. He noticed a small journal and opened it.

"_Today I discovered a possible cure for the lycanthropy_" he read from the journal. "_The original Companions made a deal with the Glenmoril Witches. Perhaps if we use their heads, the peak of their magical abilities, it will rid the beast blood?"_

He put the journal down. "What in Oblivion does that mean?"

"The Glenmoril Witches near Riften are servants of Hircine" stated a voice from the far side of the room.

Odei drew his axes.

"Hey, no need to be testy."

The person stepped out of the shadows and revealed himself. He wore a long white robe with a scarlet scarf wrapped loosely on his neck. On his face was a mask that appeared to be whirlwinds of paint across it, all of them shades of grey. His hair was a deep black and his eyes were this weird glowing yellow.

"Who are you?" asked Odei.

"Oh little old me? My name is Fog" stated the man walking into the open. He put his hands up. "I won't draw a weapon. Just hear me out."

The Dragonborn thought about it, then lowered his weapons.

"Awesome. Now, your former Harbinger was trying to get rid of Lycanthropy by reversing the curse of the Glemoral Witches. Since a mage's main power is inside their head, the best idea is to remove the head and burn it."

"That's it?" inquired the Dragonborn.

"Sort of. You see, the strongest point of the Companion's power is inside Ysgramor's tomb itself. Because of that, the person has to offer two things inside of a pyre in that place: A chunk of their flesh and the head of a Witch. In this case, a bit of Kodlak's ashes will do."

"Thanks for the information" stated Odei. "Now get out of my bedroom."

Fog chuckled. "How rude. I haven't even told you the important part."

"Then say it damn it. I've been too sober for too long."

"Fine then. Now, the person doesn't have to be dead for it to work. The person can be alive for it to work."

"Why would I need to know that?" asked Odei.

Fog chuckled. "Well, in case someone alive needed to cure their Lycanthropy."

The Nord finally got the gist of what the Silver Hand member was getting at.

"You're…telling me this in case any of us want to get cured" he concluded.

Fog shrugged. "It's not a bad idea. I mean, if you don't, Lord Hircine will take you into his personal hunting grounds and deny you of the glories of Sovngarde. But you're probably not too concerned about that are you?"

The Nord thought about it. He could cure himself and finally have a sure idea where he was going to go in the next life. On the other hand, he had been given beast blood from Skjor, and that would be a smack in the face to the deceased Lycanthrope.

"I'll at least do what is right with my original Harbinger" stated Odei positively sure. "Anything else you need?"

"Oh well, I probably should inform you of a little something. I am no longer a member of the Silver Hand."

The Nord raised an eyebrow. "Really? Why so?"

"Lack of interest" replied Fog waving his hand dismissively. "Not a big deal. But I should inform you, Yengi is not prepared to go down quietly. He brought Keinar with him. He's probably regretting not having Ordal, Boraq or me at his side, but he still has the most powerful ones at his side. Now I do not know where he is, but I will say one thing: Kill that son of a bitch. Whatever he's planning, it's bad. But I need something from you."

Odei nodded. "I agree completely. What do you ask in exchange?"

Fog leaned in close, almost touching him.

"I want you to wear this" he said dropping something into the Nord's hand.

Odei grabbed the object and held it up. It was the ring Ordal had, the one with his name in it.

"Why?" the Dragonborn asked reminded of his battle.

"He was a good man" said Fog honestly. "His memory deserves to live on. Besides, I'm full on rings."

He revealed his hands. He had a ring on each finger, like he loved collecting jewelry. He even had one on each thumb, which seemed a little odd, but he did have long thumbs.

"Now, I must go" said Fog turning. "Good luck getting the materials to help your former Harbinger."

Then he walked into the shadows and disappeared.


	30. Chapter 30

Odei rowed the boat further into the frozen ocean, a single lamp warming his face. He had borrowed the boat for a reasonable fee, as had the others.

He finally saw the edge of the tomb and adjusted bag near him. It was a large sack full to the brim with the heads of the Glenmoril Witches. It had taken three days to get them back to Whiterun, but they had sufficed.

The urn next to him held the ashes of Kodlak, at least a few of them. Presumably with the witch head they would still burn. If Fog's words were correct anyway.

The Harbinger docked the boat and looked back. The rest of the Circle followed him, rowing their little boats at him. He quickly went to the top of the dome and looked down. Indeed, the door appeared operable.

Farkas appeared next to him, a natural talent for rowing making it easier to catch up.

"Talos, its freezing balls out here" muttered the warrior wrapping his cloak tighter.

Vilkas stood beside him and nodded. "Yeah. But we are doing what's necessary."

Pretty soon the rest of the Circle was there, all five of them. They noted Kodlak's absence sadly, but they remained strong.

"You all know why we are here" said Odei gripping the jar of ashes tighter. "We are here to not only preserve Kodlak's ashes in the tomb of Ysgramor; we are stripping his soul of the beast blood. While I know a few of you disagree with this, it was his wish, not ours. If anyone of you disagree and won't carry it through, then back up now. I won't stop you. But even if all of you leave, I will go. It's my duty, as the Harbinger who replaced him, to carry on his final wish."

Aela nodded. Out of all them, she disliked the idea the most. "I'll follow you to the end."

He gave a nod of thanks. "Let's get moving."

They walked into the tomb noting how it looked. There were four different hallways, two of them jutting off into different burial chambers. The first was their hallway back to the entrance, and the fourth was sealed off. It seemed to be a simple design with a foyer that held a statue of Ysgramor. The statue was very stoic and seemed out of place without Wuuthard.

"Hand me the axe" ordered Odei extending a hand.

Njada grabbed the holy artifact and placed it into his outstretched palm.

Odei sank to a knee and held the axe up to the statue.

"What is rightfully yours, I return humbly" he whispered to the statue of Ysgramor.

The axe sank into the groove in the statue and the fourth hallway opened. It was the place where the Harbingers were buried and preserved, a special title.

"While I appreciate your efforts, only a few can enter this holy ground" stated Odei adjusting the jar of ashes on his arm. "If more than three people walk in here, the full might of this place will unveil."

Vilkas nodded. "I won't go. I'm…I'm too aggressive to step on such holy ground. It will sense my hostility, even after all this time. I wish I could follow you, but I won't risk Kodlak's dream."

Njada scoffed. "While I hate the idea, I won't go either. This place will probably murder me for giving a glance at an urn. Not my fault I'm such a bitch."

Aela didn't react. "I will follow. I have nothing to fear in this place."

Farkas cleared his throat. "I can go, I guess. I mean, I did pray at a shrine of Stendarr a little while ago."

"I'm not sure that does anything" countered Vilkas.

"Yeah, but I'm sure I'll be fine."

Odei nodded and turned. "Please follow me then. I don't want this witch head to get much older."

The three Companions walked into the chamber of Harbingers, noting the markings on the wall. They all depicted epic battle scenes of former Harbingers, some of them truly extraordinary.

They finally reached the end of the hall and stopped. They were in a huge atrium that held a large amount of tables. On each one was a separate urn, with an etching above it to indicate who it belonged to. Each one also had markings of the final battle of the Harbingers on the table, some of them truly incomprehensible.

"Wow, some guy apparently killed two hundred people in battle before he died" muttered Farkas eyeing one particular Harbinger.

"Two hundred Thalmor agents. Cannon fonder" defended Aela. "Kodlak's is probably better."

"Only four people attacked our compound" replied Farkas.

"They were all members of the Grey" stated Odei calmly. "They were elite assassins."

They stopped when they did get to Kodlak's table. It was the only one without a jar of ashes on it.

The markings of his final battle was extraordinary. It showed him being pierced by nearly a hundred blades while mid-air, as if caught off guard in a fall. Four people were around him, all of them in different outfits. The main one who stood out was the one coming from the ground, dozens of blades sprouting alongside him.

"Wow. I didn't know he died so brutally" muttered Farkas.

"He died like a warrior. Going down fighting."

Odei didn't say a word and put the jar down. He muttered a few words and rubbed the markings on the wall.

He turned and saw that there was a central torch in the middle of the room. It was a massive stone bowl that was held off the ground by a column of rock. It had a pile of burning ashes in it, like several other people had the same idea as he did.

Then he saw Kodlak beside the fire, warming his hands.

Odei was about to run at him, but he saw that the former Harbinger wasn't solid. He looked ethereal, as if he was a mirage. It was a ghost of him.

The dead Harbinger turned to his successor, smiling as he did so. "Ah, Odei. I am so glad to see you here. It would appear they elected you as my successor."

He let his smile drop. "Not sure how I feel about that."

Odei chuckled. "Don't worry old man. I grew up a little since you last met me."

"I can see that. You appear taller somehow."

The ghost turned to Aela. "My dear Aela. I am so proud of what you have become. Skjor would be proud too."

She nodded and quickly wiped a tear away.

Kodlak looked over to Farkas. "Ah, the young warrior. You and your brother are probably the best allies a Harbinger could have. You assisted me so well in the last life. I hope you do so with Odei in this life."

"I will sir" stated the warrior respectfully.

The former Harbinger nodded. "Good. Now, I must ask, what is that you hold there Odei?"

The new Harbinger pulled out one of the witch heads and showed it to Kodlak.

The old man grunted. "I see you read my journal. Good. Are you sure you wish to do this? My spirit is incredibly strong."

"I am sure. I am ready to fight."

Kodlak nodded and stepped to the side. "I must ask, how many heads did you bring?"

Odei stopped, not sure he really wanted to answer this. Then he decided to do it anyway. "I brought six."

Aela glared at him, instantly assessing why he brought that many. It was the perfect number to rid the Circle of Lycanthropy and Kodlak.

Farkas nodded. He appreciated the gesture. He still wasn't sure if he wanted the beast blood or not.

Kodlak grunted in understand. "Go on then. I will wait for you to fight my spirit."


	31. Chapter 31

Odei pulled a head out of the bag, looking into the heart of the fire before him. As soon as he dropped this in, Kodlak would lose his Lycanthropy permanently. But first, he had to kill the spirit.

The Harbinger wiped his brow, preparing himself. He hadn't gotten drunk, since he couldn't fight a werewolf in a dangerous, anarchistic state. He needed to be calm to kill them.

"Hold on to something" muttered Odei dropping in the head.

The witch head sparked the fire and began to burn. Something foul rose from the burning head, like deep dark magicka. It was green and stank something awful.

"Gods that stuff is a bunch of shit" muttered the berserker drawing his axes.

The magicka swirled in the air and began to form into a shape. Pretty soon it was a really big shape, almost humanoid.

"We got your back" said Farkas raising his sword.

Aela nodded and notched her bow.

Odei appreciated this, but he knew he was the one who had to kill the beast. He was Dragonborn after all, He was technically the strongest.

The magicka finally stopped moving and revealed itself. It was a large werewolf, nearly six feet tall. It had the typical attributes of a Lycanthrope, except for an odd tail. This tail was incredibly long and had bones all along it.

The beast roared and sprinted at Odei.

The Berserker leaped back and swung his axes. They cut into the magicka, but didn't seem to hurt the thing.

The spirit swung again and hit Odei in the head. He rolled backwards and stopped when he hit a wall.

Aela fired an arrow and it sank into the magical aura. The beast turned to her and began to charge.

Farkas stepped in the way and swung his sword. It cleaved into the spirit's side, spilling its magicka all over the floor. This time it seemed to be bleeding, sort of.

The beast whirled and lashed out with its tail. The spiny appendage slashed into Farkas's chest and sent him stumbling away.

Odei picked himself up and ran back at the beast. He spun and sliced multiple times into its back and legs, hoping to disable the thing. Despite the number of cuts it had endured, the thing wasn't going down.

The spirit turned and slashed out with its claws. Odei dodged them and slammed an axe into its chest.

The werewolf stumbled and Farkas stabbed it in the back, clean through the chest.

The spirit coughed blood and dropped to its knees. They had pierced the magical heart of the beast, a natural weak spot.

The spirit dissipated, fading into the air. It howled one last time before finally dying.

Kodlak appeared, smiling heavily.

"You did it. You killed the spirit of my inner beast" stated the Harbinger all sorts of happy. "Thankfully most of my power was inside myself, not in the beast. If that was false, I wouldn't ask for you to kill the beast. No one could."

Odei nodded. "Good thing you're stronger than your beast. Now you can rest in Sovngarde, with the great heroes of old."

Kodlak smiled. "Yeah. Thank you for this. Thank you all."

He nodded at Odei. "Just make sure you do what you must do."

The new Harbinger bowed slightly. "Rest now, my former master."

Kodlak sighed and leaned his head back. His spirit began to fade into the distance, disappearing in the air.

When he was finally gone, Odei turned to the others. "Good job. We…did it."

"Isn't there something you forgot?" asked Aela rather impatiently.

He looked at her in confusion, then he sighed. "Why yes, there is."

He opened the bag of witch heads and removed one. Propping it in his arm, he tossed it into the fire.

It sparked upwards and Odei cut into his arm with his axe. A single drop of blood came out and hit the fire.

His Lycanthrope spirit burst from the fire, roaring as it did so. Unlike Kodlak's, which was half-dead, this one was full alive and kicking.

The spirit sprinted at him, swinging wildly.

"YOL TUUR SHUL!" roared Odei in response.

Flames bathed the werewolf and began to burn its fur. It spun and hit him straight in the face.

Odei backed up and grunted. He couldn't Shout for a little while, so he had to rely on his physical moves. But since they did practically nothing, it was like swinging a stick in the wind.

Aela fired an arrow and nailed the beast in the head. It didn't even flinch and kept going at Odei. Obviously it had one goal in mind: kill the sonofabitch who dropped that witch head in.

Farkas slashed into its back and cleaved a good chunk of its skin off. Even then the thing still tried to reach Odei.

The berserker blocked the incoming slash and head-butted the spirit. Twirling his axes, he began to cut into its head, not even bothered with the fact that he was destroying his own spirit.

The spirit looked at him and grinned. Then it spoke, in a rough, uncivilized voice.

"You…pathetic" spoke the beast gruffly. "You…no win here. I…stronger."

"No, you aren't" replied Odei snarling. "I am the hunter, you are the prey."

The beast roared in anger and swung again. Then his owner smiled.

"VEN GAAR NOS!" roared Odei finally recovered.

The Lycanthrope was thrown into the air as a cyclone enveloped around him. He slammed into the ceiling and smashed back into the floor.

The berserker jumped into his beast and began to cut him, trying his best to destroy him. With every slash he got more ferocious, foaming at the mouth and roaring in anger.

"Die, die, die, die!" yelled Odei swinging his aces frantically.

He finally cut into the ribcage and a huge geyser of blood spewed into the air. The werewolf gasped and grinned.

"Go…on" taunted the beast. "Kill…me. Me…correct. You…animal all…along."

Odei stopped. He realized with a start that the beast was right. He was still a beast, capable of massive amounts of destruction and death. Killing his inner Lycanthrope did nothing.

He grabbed the werewolf and lifted it to his face. They pressed their foreheads together, human and beast.

"You are the animal" spat Odei growling. "You will never know love, or friendship. You will only know your own rage. And I pity you."

The werewolf growled. "No want…pity. Kill me…and be free."

Odei dropped him. "No. That will do nothing to help me. I will assure my place in Sovngarde by using you as a tool, not an ally. You are nothing to me, a speck of dust. You are the thing I call upon like a second weapon, but not as what I truly am. You serve me now, not the other way around."

The Lycanthrope snarled in anger. "How…dare you?"

He slammed his fist into the werewolf, silencing it. "I don't want your arguments. You will follow me. Even if I have to kill you and bring you back. You are my servant!"

The other Companions stared at him stunned. He was somehow taming his inner beast, thought a rather violent taming it may be.

The Lycanthrope snarled. "Fine. You…master. I will…help you. We one now. You die…I die. I…preserve body. No more."

Odei nodded. "Fine by me. But you must be ready when I need you."

"I…will. But don't….expect welcome."

"Fair enough. Now be gone."

The spirit disappeared and the magicka flew inside Odei. He shuddered as a brand new feeling entered him. It was like a fine wine, which he had tried once in a dare. He no longer felt tired, or weighed down. He actually felt rather good.

He turned to the others. "So, let's get home."


	32. Chapter 32

The members of the Circle stood in the courtyard of Jorrvaskr, already planning their final assault. The Silver Hand were reeling, but they weren't dead. And the worst part was, they didn't know where they were.

"Why are we just sitting on our hands waiting?" asked Njada slightly annoyed. She still had her beast blood inside of her, as did everyone else. Odei decided not to push the issue too much.

"We need to get a location first" countered Vilkas.

"Then let's get our asses out there and look!" protested the short-tempered warmaiden. "Goddamn I am tired of this bullshit!"

Aela put a hand on her shoulder. "A wise hunter waits until he can see the prey before he strikes. We must wait until we find their location."

Farkas nodded. "What she said."

Odei tipped back a bottle of liquor. He decided that, because of his Dragonborn aspect, being intoxicated was the best idea. Besides, he thought clearer drunk anyway.

"I think my spies are working their asses off as it is" stated the Harbinger feeling blood go to his cheeks. "If we make em work anymore, they'll become less effective."

"You could hire more" proposed Vilkas.

"I'm blowing half our income on spies already" replied Odei. "We barely have enough to pay for food and supplies. Not to mention the goddamn taxes. Goddamn bullshit taxes on a historic building."

A messenger ran in, holding a scroll.

"Lord Odei" stated the man. "A report from one of your scouts."

"Call me Odei" countered the Harbinger grabbing the scroll. He unrolled it and grinned.

"Holy shit. We found it."

Then he snarled. "Goddamn it. I know what they want."

"What?" asked the entire group. Including the messenger.

"They're after a Sigil Stone" said Odei throwing the scroll on the ground.

Farkas looked at the gasping people around him. "What in the name of Ysgramor is a Sigil Stone?"

Vilkas sighed. He anticipated a dumbass remark from his brother. "A Sigil Stone is a device used to connect Tamriel to a realm of Oblivion. Usually it remains inactive until a very powerful mage unleash a huge amount of magic."

The warrior's eyes widened. "That's bad."

"Yeah. Dumbasses must be trying to control something" muttered Odei. "But who would they want to be...?"

He stopped. "They're going to contact a Daedric Prince."

Aela glanced at him. "But who would kill Lycanthropes for mortals?"

"I assume Yengi is not trying to get a partner" said the Harbinger wisely. "He's too prideful. He wants power. Ordal himself told me."

He rubbed the ring he had gotten from Fog, the ring of the deceased Silver Hand member. "Yengi thinks of himself as king. He will become stronger, so he doesn't have to rely on anyone else."

"Arrogant asshole" murmured Aela.

"Yeah. But he does have a point. Ordal nearly killed me, and he followed Yengi without a protest. That means he is either a master manipulator or insanely powerful."

"Usually, people like him are both" stated Vilkas calmly.

"Now we have to think this through. If he really is that powerful, then chances are my previous tactics of repeatedly punching people in the face and getting my ass kicked won't work. We have to either gang up on him, or get his men to turn on him."

"Impossible" said Aela. "That man, Keinar, seems incredibly dedicated."

"Agreed" said Farkas. "But let's get back to that Stone thingy. Why would he want to go into Oblivion?"

"One of two options" explained Odei rustling through his memories. "One, he hopes to contact Hermaeus Mora and gain information. Pretty obvious, but a decent guess. The second would be to control a Daedric army. I don't know where he'd get it from, but it is possible."

Njada picked up her sword. "Well we won't get very far if we wait, now will we? I say we get to where he is so we can stop anything that he plans."

"For once I agree with you" said the Dragonborn adjusting his tunic. "We leave in ten minutes."

* * *

Odei walked into Jorrvaskr, his head bowed low. While he was known as the Harbinger and now the Dragonborn, no one wanted to talk. They sensed that he had important matters on his mind. Not to mention most of them were already occupied.

"Gods, I wish I never took this job" he murmured pouring more mead into his mouth. "Least I get some of Kodlak's old drink barrels to boot."

He got to his room and saw that Ria was still sleeping. Granted it just past dawn, and she had been recovering from her kidnapping. He felt bad for not asking her about it at all, but the taming of his inner beast was enough to keep him occupied.

Now that he had suppressed the inner beast to serve him, he no longer felt the desire to kill and injure other people as badly. It wasn't even a mild itch anymore. It was like it no longer existed. Not to mention it was a little easier to sleep. Before he had to have Ria next to him to get good sleep. Now it came pretty damn naturally.

He lay down beside her and nuzzled her neck. He felt her smile and nudge into his stomach.

"Didn't expect you to come back in bed" she said still half-asleep.

"Don't get too excited. I'm leaving in ten minutes" he stated slightly saddened at the fact. He wish he had said twenty minutes.

She turned to face him and kissed him lightly on the lips. "Ten minutes is enough."

He smiled. "Right you are my sweet roll."

She giggled and nudged his forehead with hers. "I thought I told you to stop calling me that. We're too old for such stupid talk."

"Stupid? I thought I already told you" stated Odei pulling something from his pocket.

He held it up for her to see. It was an Amulet of Mara.

"I say stupid things when I'm so crazily in love with you."

Ria gasped. "Are you..?"

He grinned. "Yes I am."

Odei held up another object, a small silver ring. He slid it onto her finger, revealing his own ring. It was on the exact same finger as hers, accompanied only by Ordal's ring.

"Will you marry me?" he whispered softly.

Ria felt tears come to her eyes. She had been silently hoping for this moment ever since they had been together.

"Yes" she said extremely ecstatic.

Odei was so relieved he thought that he was sober again. He flopped down and made a dramatic exhale.

"Damn that was close. For a second I thought I screwed up" he muttered chuckling.

She shoved him lightly. "You just had to kill the moment didn't you?"

"Eh, I made the moment to being with. Suits me fine to kill it too."

She giggled. "Well alright then. But don't be such a buzz kill when we're married, okay?"

"Certainly, dear" he said almost jokingly. But in actuality, he meant it.

He got out of bed regrettably. "Now I gotta go."

Odei turned to look back at her. "When I get back, we're having our wedding my little sweet roll. Count on it."

She smiled. "I hope so. If you're late to your own wedding, I'll kick your ass."

"Hey, no need to get violent babe" he said raising his hands. "Just trying to be a nice guy."


	33. Chapter 33

Odei and the Circle Ran through the forest, all of them perfectly ready to fight. Each one of them felt their beast blood heat up, except for Odei whose beast remained silent. He was concerned about this, but decided to let it do what it wanted.

Farkas grinned and turned to his brother, not even breaking pace. "Gods I've been waiting for a fight like this. Two of the top guys in the Silver Hand at our fingertips. It feels awesome."

"Don't be idiotic" spat Njada. "The others we fought were playthings compared to these guys. Ordal nearly killed Odei, and that guy was a pushover. Yengi himself must be pretty damn powerful and it'll take all of us to take him down."

"Standard hunting tactics then" stated Aela calmly. "Overwhelm and smother."

"Precisely" replied Vilkas. "We need to be smarter. If we slip up, we all die."

Odei nodded. He was drunk, but sober enough to lead effectively. "I am not the one-man-army here. This is a team effort. Once we open up their weakness, I go in for the kill. But until then, we have to fight as one. Watch each other's backs and don't be a dumbass."

"Kodlak said something like that" murmured Vilkas smiling at his newest leader.

"So what if the old man said it? I said it too, and that's an order soldier" joked Odei grinning.

"Yes sir" said Farkas chuckling to himself.

They looked to the bottom of the valley and saw that something was there. It was a huge stone obelisk, in the middle of nowhere. Around it was a small outpost, like a bandit encampment. It looked a primitive settlement, but they knew better. It was obviously well-made and had probably taken years to build.

"We're here" murmured Farkas.

"Lot more subtle then Baznyc" said Njada. "This place looks like a bandit camp, not a Silver Hand place."

"Smart move" complimented Aela. "The prey becomes intelligent."

"The prey is about to get my boot up its ass" stated Odei. "Then you all will help me force it up into their throat."

"Then let's get to ass-kicking. I'm getting itchy" said Farkas stroking his blade.

"Move out!" yelled the Harbinger.

They ran down the valley, with Odei as the spearhead in their running pattern. It was pretty intimidating, five armored people running down all with weapons on their backs and anger on their faces. Farkas and Njada were yelling a battle cry, while Aela and Vilkas remained stoic. Odei himself was doing an odd mix of both, since he was drinking from a bottle at his hip. Running while drinking is very hard to do for most people, but he knew exactly what to do.

They reached the stronghold and people finally saw them.

It must've been a sight, five Companions all decked out and ready to kill.

There were twenty guards where they were headed, and not a single one moved. They were staring at them astonished, as if this was the last thing they expected.

Aela notched her bow and fired a shot, earning the first kill of the day. A quick reload and she got the second kill as well.

Farkas leaped into a crowd and swung his sword wildly, cleaving into five different people. His brother Vilkas quickly joined him, both of them swinging one after the other.

Njada roared ferociously and raised two swords. Jumping onto the outer wall of the encampment, she began running across it and killing the archers. They fired at her quickly, but she managed to stab one before she got hit. Gripping his armor, she hoisted him in front of her like a shield. Since arrows aren't meant for piercing, it was a perfect defense.

Odei grinned to himself and went up to the door. Swallowing a deep gulp of his liquor, he raised a flames spell.

He began to exhale, when he saw something through the crack of the gate. It looked like a sword.

The gate exploded from the inside out and a huge chunk of ice blasted through it, catching Odei in the chest. He flew backwards and rolled into a heap, utterly devastated by the blow.

Keinar sprinted through the door, his sword resting on his shoulder. Oddly enough, it was immensely bigger than before. It looked like a giant's weapon, being nearly nine feet long and one foot at the base.

Roaring, the Bosmer swung his sword in one motion.

Instantly, he cut through ten different Silver Hand as his sword passed at their neck level. Farkas and Vilkas were able to duck in time however, and immediately retreated to a safe distance.

The Elf grinned at them all. Putting his sword so it guarded his face from Aela's arrows, he looked at Odei's body. "Pathetic. How did you ever defeat Ordal with that? I knew he was strong, so you must be bullshitting me."

Odei looked up and Keinar saw the huge grin on his face. Then the Nord slammed his flaming hand down in the ground.

The flames burst onto a trail he had left into the ground and burned towards Keinar.

He looked down and noticed the bottle of liquor at his feet.

"Little bitch" he murmured leaping back.

The flames caught the bottle and exploded, sending shrapnel in every direction. Keinar actually managed to block the blast, but then two swords came at his head.

He blocked Njada's frantic strike rather easily and pushed her away. Swinging around him, he didn't even need to aim. His blade acted as its own deterrent to attack, becoming sword and shield.

Aela fired a shot and the Bosmer dodged it with a flick of his head. It was impossible to get a bead on him when he spun, and he didn't let any melee fighter get close to him. A smart move, since he was fighting five people at once.

"Ugh. Annoying" murmured Odei. He braced himself against the ground and roared:

"YOL TUUR SHUL!"

A huge fireball burst from his lips and flew at Keinar.

The Bosmer turned and swung his sword, cutting clean through the ball of flames. Presuming a battle stance, he leaped towards Odei.

The Dragonborn side-stepped and the massive blade just missed him.

Keinar let go of his sword and made a rapid series of jabs into Odei's chest. Raising a knee, he grabbed Odei's head and smashed it into it, sending the Dragonborn reeling.

Vilkas ran in and swung his sword. Keinar parried with his arm and punched him in the face. Kicking out his knee, he grabbed his huge sword and back-handed Vilkas with it.

Farkas roared and leaped with his weapon.

Keinar blocked the powerful overcut and grabbed Farkas by the shirt. Hoisting him off the ground, he threw him aside.

Aela fired another shot and the Bosmer sidestepped it. Sprinting at her, he began twirling his blade rapidly.

Njada slammed into him and slashed into his arm, finally managing to hurt the Elf.

Keinar turned and back-handed her with his free hand, grabbing her hair in the process. Pulling her to the ground, he slammed his forehead into her nose.

The warmaiden collapsed, bleeding profusely and extremely hurt.

Keinar raised his sword and threw it Aela.

The huntress dodged in surprise at his accuracy. It was exactly where she was and would've easily killed her if she didn't move.

Keinar ran at her and swung with his fist.

It connected with her jaw and snapped her head to the side. It was like getting hit by a falling tree trunk.

He grabbed her and smashed her into the wall of the encampment. Everyone else was trying to reach him, but he knew better. He was faster.

He began smashing her head into the wall, bringing up blood by the third hit.

"Bitch!" he yelled putting even more effort into his motions.

He heard something in her head crack and he grinned with delight. Encouraged by this, he kept going.

Odei slammed his axe into Keinar's shoulder and it sparked off. Only then was it apparent that he was wearing some sort of armor underneath his clothes, which was apparently strong.

Keinar turned and backhanded Odei. Letting go of Aela, who promptly collapsed to the ground, he pried his sword from the wall.

"Let's get moving you cocksuckers" he said grinning at the four remaining Companions.


	34. Chapter 34

Keinar twirled his blade and kept moving, actually becoming like a top on the battlefield.

Vilkas slid under his blade and swiped at his feet.

The Bosmer jumped up and slammed his sword down.

The legionary was caught in it and he gasped. The sword cut through his armor and had sliced a long line in his sternum. It was ice cold, but it burned worse than anything he ever felt.

Keinar spun his blade in both hands and raised it high above Vilkas.

Laughing maniacally, he thrusted straight down.

Farkas leaped in and kicked him in the head. Landing, he began a rapid series of slashes and stabs at Keinar.

The Bosmer blocked his frantic blows and grinned. He was obviously having fun, despite the number of foes he was fighting.

Njada sprung from behind him and swung.

The Elf blocked without the slightest difficultly and parried Farkas's next blow.

Odei jumped in and swung with his axes.

Keinar kicked him in the chest and sent him reeling backwards. Swinging at Farkas, he grabbed Njada and threw her into him. They both collapsed to the ground and Keinar turned back to Odei.

Sprinting forward, he raised his sword high.

Vilkas ran in, his midsection hastily patched up. He stabbed Keinar in the side, rupturing his intestines by the amount of blood he got.

The Bosmer grunted and slapped the legionary away. Pulling the sword out, he snapped in half.

Running back at Odei, he frantically began slicing him.

The Dragonborn blocked a strike to his head with much difficulty. The blade he was using weighed a ton and was like being hit by ton of bricks. Not to mention Keinar swung it like a stick.

Farkas came back in and slashed the Bosmer across the back.

Keinar groaned in pain and stumbled forward.

Odei cut upwards with his axe and hit him in the chest.

The Elf swung and they both backed up. Raising his immense blade, he aimed at Odei again.

Njada stabbed him twice in the back and let her swords go, keeping them embedded into the Bosmer's body.

Keinar swung again and hit her in the chest. She flew away, but her blades still stuck to him.

"Shit. Shit. Shit" murmured the Bosmer. It was obvious he was having trouble standing for much longer.

Farkas didn't let him recover. Raising his broadsword, he aimed a long jab at Keinar's chest.

The Elf grabbed his sword and snarled. Obviously he wasn't done yet.

"Bitch" he spat gripping the blade. "I won't die from you idiots. I'm too strong."

He grabbed Farkas by the arm and threw him over his head. Raising his blade, he roared at Odei.

"I will kill you Companions!" he declared hotly.

He swung his sword at Odei, who promptly dodged. Bringing his foot back, the Dragonborn yelled:

"VEN GAAR NOS!"

A cyclone flew from his lips and blasted into Keinar.

The Bosmer swung his blade and the wind dispersed instantly, as if he could cut through it.

Jabbing forward, he just nicked Odei in the head.

The Dragonborn backed up and held his bleeding skull. Just in time to watch a huge ice blade come at his head.

He ducked and slashed with his axe. It his Keinar in the arm and made him drop his weapon.

The Bosmer gasped and collapsed to his knees. His right arm was now useless, a huge slash in the veins. It was bleeding profusely and he couldn't move it.

Odei looked down at him surprised. It looked like Keinar was crying, but not in pain. It was something different.

"Not good. You injured me."

He looked up and his eyes were filled with anger. "But don't forget Companions. There is something that I cannot let anyone ever forget."

He grabbed his sword with his other arm and stood.

"I am strong!" he roared swinging his sword.

Odei leaped back and blocked the next strike desperately. The Bosmer was possessed with even faster speed, like his statement had come true. It was incredible to watch.

Njada leaped in, two daggers in her hands. She slashed into his face and Keinar slapped her. Grabbing her by the hair, he ripped a huge chunk of it clean out of her head.

She screamed in pain and grabbed her head. It was bleeding profusely and probably hurt awfully.

Keinar raised his sword and attempted to stab her.

Farkas punched him in the face and raised his sword to the Elf's neck.

"Give up" he ordered staring into the Bosmer's eyes.

"NEVER!" roared Keinar.

He moved forward, despite the blade cutting into his neck. Somehow, it missed his artery entirely. However, he still bled when he moved.

Keinar freed himself and swung at Farkas. Cleaving into his chest, he grabbed the warrior and slammed him into the ground.

Turning back to Odei, he grinned through bloody teeth. "You enjoying how I'm treating your friends? These assholes are tough, I'll give them that. Not hard I imagine. Five against one is pretty damn difficult to manage. But that's…"

He stopped when he heard something behind him. He turned to face it.

A huge spear slammed into his chest, piercing through his heart.

Keinar gasped and looked at the wielder of the spear.

"Yengi…why..?" he asked in disbelief.

"A sacrifice must be made" said the king. "The contract cannot be fulfilled unless someone I care about it slain."

He smiled and stroked the Bosmer's cheek. "I am sorry I didn't inform you of this. But let me tell you personally, your sacrifice this day will be remembered."

Keinar raised his sword and Yengi raised an eyebrow.

"Bullshit!" roared the Bosmer swinging his sword.

Yengi stabbed deeper and the Elf stopped.

"Idiotic. Just die already!" ordered the king. "This must be done!"

Keinar sank lower on the spear and began to choke on his blood.

"I…never thought…I'd die…like this."

He gasped and collapsed against the spear, breathing his last.

Yengi pulled the spear out and placed his comrade reverently on the ground.

"May you rest in paradise brother" said the king closing his fallen comrade's eyes.

He turned to the Companions, the only ones missing being Njada and Aela.

"You don't understand it do you? Why would I kill a dear friend of mine?"

He grinned. "It's simple. A Daedric Prince likes to make contracts that involve painful things for your desire. But I am willing to do anything to achieve my goals."

"Which Daedric Prince did you summon?" demanded Odei. "I am tired of games! Who would be willing to exterminate Lycanthropes?"

"My dear, idiotic Harbinger, what makes you think I wanted their help?"

Suddenly, a tower of green slime burst from the ground and wrapped around Yengi. He flared out his arms and it covered his skin like a liquid.

"Thank you Lord Peryite!" yelled the Siler Hand leader. "This gift you give me is most beautiful!"

"Your contract has been fulfilled" stated a voice from the ground. It sounded like a middle-aged man, but his voice had an odd noise to it. It sounded like he was gurgling past some liquid, as if he was choking to death.

Yengi strode from the pillar, the green liquid now pouring from him. He looked like it was gushing from his very skin, covering it in a thick layer.

Then it all slid off, revealing his new body. It was covered in black scaled armor, similar to a dragon. His head was a skull, crawling with insects and slime. His spear looked rusted and had a huge scythe blade at the end. Now he looked like the Grim Reaper without a cloak.

"The Daedric Lord of Pestilence is often ignored because his powers are not known" stated Yengi. His voice creaked and bubbled, as if he was bleeding from the mouth and his jaw needed oil. "He has killed millions of people, since he made every disease on this earth. Imagine the death toll he has put into society. And he lent me just a chunk of it."

He waved his hand and the dirt itself withered. It was like the earth grew sick at him, it shuddered and shook. Trees at the far end of the courtyard quivered and died, as if a thousand years of age happened instantly.

"Shit" murmured Vilkas. "How do we fight that?"

"Same way we fight any Daedra. All he did was kill some plants" stated Farkas. "Plants and people are different things. Just rush him."

"For once, I agree" said Odei. He raised his axes. "Let's get going. Time to finish this!"


	35. Chapter 35

Yengi swung his scythe, cutting a line into the air. It literally made the air itself thicker when he swung.

Farkas stabbed with his sword and it punched through his skin. But oddly enough, it sounded like he had hit a bowl of jelly.

When he pulled his blade out, it was covered in vile goo. He decided it would be best if he didn't touch the stuff.

Yengi grabbed him with a bony arm and threw him. Despite his thin demeanor, he was incredibly strong apparently.

Vilkas caught his brother and both of them ran at him.

Yengi blocked their strikes and raised a hand.

"Wither" he muttered to himself.

Something slid from under his armor, something smoky and vile. It looked like green smoke and smelled awful.

They leaped back, but not before a bit of the smoke hit Vilkas's sword.

It began to disintegrate, melting to the ground. It stopped when he slid it across the ground, but it had taken a definite chunk of his blade.

"Damn. That's amazing" murmured the legionary.

Odei looked at Yengi. "Impressive. I gotta say, this is incredibly cool to see."

He put a foot back and braced himself. "But seriously. Just die."

"YOL TUUR SHUL!"

A huge fireball blasted at Yengi, burning a crimson red.

It slammed into Yengi without stopping, taking it with him. He slammed into the side of the stronghold and the fire dissipated.

His scale armor was completely gone except for a few shards of it left, but not a single burn mark was on his skin. His armor obviously took the brunt of the damage.

"Nice shot. But that's the last one you will ever get."

The Silver Hand flew at the three Companions and swung his scythe.

It nicked Farkas in the arm and he screamed in pain.

A black smoke rose from his arm and it began to wither away at his flesh and bone. It was like he had dunked his arm in a pool of acid.

"Cut my arm off Vilkas!" he ordered raising his dissolving arm.

His brother immediately knew what was going on. He raised his sword and cut from the elbow down.

Farkas collapsed, holding his bleeding arm. While he was saddened that he lost an arm, he was grateful it hadn't killed him.

"That's it asshole" said Vilkas raising his sword. "You made my brother lose an arm. I'm gonna take your head."

"Good luck" joked Yengi. "I will love to watch you try."

The two leftover Companions raised their weapons. They weren't sure if they could even kill this guy. Three of their men had been taken down, and only two were left.

Vilkas turned to Odei. "You're a Dragonborn. Can't you do something?"

"You're criticizing me now? What in Oblivion is wrong with you?"

"Damn it Odei, three of our friends are near dead. My own brother almost died. We need to do something."

"I'll tell you what we're going to do Vilkas!"

He grinned. "Let's get wild."

The legionary nodded. "Right."

They crouched down and began to transform.

Fur burst from under their skin and claws shifted under their hands. It was fast and violent, and sent a clear message to Yengi.

The two Lycanthropes roared, fully transformed.

Yengi grinned, revealing rotten teeth. "Goody. I was wondering when you would do that."

He held out his scythe. "Bring it on."

The two werewolves sprinted at him, going in full unison. It was a pretty terrifying thing since they moved so quickly.

Yengi swung and hit Odei in the chest. He didn't disintegrate, but he did get cut pretty damn bad.

The werewolf swung and cleaved through Yengi's chest. It tore off a chunk of his armor and sent it clattering to the ground.

Vilkas bit into the king's neck and ripped off a chunk of skin.

Yengi grabbed the two werewolves and threw them off. He swung his scythe, hitting both of them.

"Gods, is this really it? Bring it all onto me."

Odei roared and sprinted at him. He slammed into Yengi and began to tear into his chest with his teeth.

The king looked down and grabbed the top of his head. Pressing two fingers into his skull, Odei collapsed.

The Dragonborn shifted back into human form, startled by this. It was like when he fought Ordal, except it was instantaneous.

"How did you..?" he began surprised.

Yengi picked him up. "I taught all the Grey how to do it, but I'm the only one who can do it without a poison. It's extremely easy for me to do."

He grinned. "Your biggest advantage is now not open to you."

Vilkas charged in, tired of waiting. He swung his claw at the king's head.

Yengi blocked him calmly, not even bothered.

"What will you do Dragonborn? Tell me."

He snarled. "Tell me!"

He grabbed Vilkas and threw him aside. Gripping Odei by the shirt, he raised him to eye level.

"Tell me Dragonborn!" he ordered.

He threw him into the wall, cracking it in the process.

"Tell me!" he exclaimed getting incredibly angry.

Something in Odei shifted, as if a bone had snapped inside of him. He couldn't see his face, but he knew something had changed.

"Answer me damn it!" shouted Yengi swinging his scythe.

Odei caught the blade smoothly.

The king gasped and looked into Odei's eyes.

The Dragonborn grinned at him. His eyes were now golden and jagged, like a panther's.

"I thought I told you to preserve your body you idiot?" gurgled Odei. He spoke in a voice that wasn't his, like it was possessed.

"Who are you?" asked Yengi curious. "Are you the Dragonborn spirit inside of him?"

"No you dumb shit" spat Odei. "I'm his Lycanthrope spirit. We are known to possess their bodies like this. Not used to vocal cords though. Or the disgusting way this body bleeds and sweats. Anyway, he needs my help. And I'm glad to lend it."

He grinned. "Yol Tuur Shul."

A fireball spewed from his mouth and slammed into Yengi. He flew back and rolled on the ground, burning greatly.

Odei stood up and shook his hair off his face. "Wow. That was kinda cool. Wasn't I supposed to shout it though?"

He shrugged. "Oh well. Worked pretty well obviously."

Yengi stood and panted heavily. He had even less armor and had one less eye.

"You...spoke the Shout? Is that even possible?"

"Don't ask me" said the Lycanthrope spirit. "I'm just a beast thing. But, let's see how well it works."

He sighed. "Yol Tuur Shul."

Another fireball spewed from him, trailing at the Silver Hand.

Yengi swung his scythe and the fire instantly died. It was like it had been eaten away completely.

"Hmm. Looks like I gotta get in a fight then."

Odei turned to Vilkas, who was still in a beast form.

"Give me a boost, fellow beast" stated the Lycanthrope spirit.

Vilkas nodded and grabbed Odei. Roaring into the sky, it threw Odei to Yengi.

The king raised his scythe and caught Odei mid-air. Slamming him in the ground, he aimed his hand at Odei's head.

"YOL TUUR SHUL!" yelled Odei.

The fire stared right at Yengi's head and burst upwards, blasting through his head. It was like a beam of flames, burning into the afternoon sky.

Yengi backed up and held his burning head. Because he had a skull for his face, it looked rather odd.

"Scum!" roared the king. "Die!"

Suddenly the green pillar returned to him, covering him completely. It lasted for nearly ten seconds, then left.

Yengi stood in the center of the green goo, panting deeply. He looked like his old form, except for some burns on his face and neck. His clothes were in tatters and his spear was shattered in half.

"What…? How did this happen?"

He snarled. "Peryite! We had a deal!"

"Our deal is fulfilled Yengi" stated the Daedric Prince from below. "You never stated a time period for my powers. To be honest, I can find a million men who can spread my pestilence. And obviously, you couldn't even defeat those two Lycanthropes even with my help."

"Fuck you" spat Yengi. "Just go crawl in a hole you traitorous son of a bitch!"

He turned to Vilkas and Odei. "You…assholes. Do you even know what I hoped to do? I could've done it! I could've killed everything that plaques Skyrim! Not just wild werewolves, but vampires, bandits, everything! Skyrim could've become goddamn paradise! I could've ended the Civil War if I wanted to! All if you just let me do it!"

He sank to his knees, bleeding from the mouth. "You idiots never understood anything! You are short-sighted imbeciles! You are animals in human skin! I can't die like this! Not by Lycanthropes, not by Companions, and certainly not by you! I didn't want to die here, by the hands, of a FILTHY ANIMAL!"

Odei shook his head, having attained control again. Obviously he was fully capable of getting back in the saddle when he needed to.

He looked Yengi in the eyes and raised his axe. "I'm not an animal. I am a Dragonborn."

He swung and chopped clean through the king's head.

Odei sighed. "For my wife Ria you son of a bitch."

He turned to Vilkas. "I need you to transform back man. Can you do that?"

The werewolf nodded, then he crouched down and the fur began to retract.

One minute later, Vilkas was back to normal. He looked over at his brother, who was holding his stump of an arm.

"Shit. Don't worry brother. We can replace your arm."

Odei walked over to Njada and looked at her. She was sealing the wound in her head, but obviously she had lost half of her hair. It was incredibly bad for a simple hair pulling.

"Damn my head hurts" she muttered pressing her hands into the bleeding wound.

"You okay?" he asked curiously.

"Do I look okay asshole?"

"You're okay."

He walked over to Aela and knelt down. She appeared to be bleeding as well, but she was also unconscious.

Odei pulled out a bottle of healing and began feeding it to her slowly. He looked at his other comrades, who were slowly getting themselves over to him.

He burst into laughter.

Vilkas turned to him. "Why you so happy?"

"We won!" yelled Odei. "We got rid of the Silver Hand!"

Farkas chuckled. "I guess we did man. We really did."

Njada stood, still holding her bleeding skull. "We better have won. It's gonna take years to regrow my hair to my old level."

"What level? You had a boy haircut anyway" joked Farkas.

"Says the asshole with one arm."

He snarled. "Gods, don't bring it up. When I regenerate it, I'm gonna shove it through your skull."

Odei finished healing Aela and slung her over his shoulder. "Let's get back home."


	36. Chapter 36

Odei woke up, for once not regretting doing so. He knew the kind of day he was going to have, so he decided to remain sober last night. Today would hold plenty of drinking as it was.

He stretched, loving this feeling. It actually felt good waking up when you weren't full of alcohol.

The Dragonborn walked over to the mirror in his room and rubbed his chin. He still had that small beard going on. For some reason facial hair didn't come to him that easily and he still had no idea why.

He smiled up at his reflection. "I'm getting married today."

He rubbed his eyes, clearing out the sand in them. "Never thought I'd see the day. Crap, I thought I'd be single forever, then I met Ria. Never thought of marrying her though."

He grinned. "We did it man. We finally got a ring on our finger that we didn't steal or get from a friend. Hmm. Wonder how fun this is going to be?"

Due to being a Companion, they had their own idea of marriage. Because life was dedicated to battle and glory, the ritual was pretty simple. All they had to do was put on the rings and share a burnt piece of bread roasted over a fire. After this was the after party, which was far more important.

Odei licked his lips. He could taste the liquor he bought for this occasion already. He would get so drunk he wouldn't be able to feel. He had it all planned.

Someone knocked at the door and Farkas walked in.

"Excited bro?" asked the warrior leaning on the wall.

"What do you think?" countered the Harbinger.

"Must be cool. Being engaged and now getting married. How long of a honeymoon you taking?"

"Depends on how long my bed holds up" said Odei slyly.

They both chuckled.

"How's the new arm?" inquired the berserker curiously.

Farkas extended it. It was slightly off-color to the rest of his body, but that would adjust itself. "Pretty good. I can move all my fingers and stuff. Weird though. It bends a little more than my original."

"Good. Then you can finally reach behind to beat your own ass."

The warrior grunted. "Figured you'd say that. Vilkas did too."

Odei laughed. "Why does that not surprise me?"

He got a serious look. "You see what Ria looks like?"

Farkas gave a shake of the head. "You know the rules. Even the Companions know that you don't see your bride before the ceremony."

Odei scoffed. "Come on. Not even a hint?"

"Not one."

"Damn you."

The groom rubbed his temples. "Shit. What do I wear?"

"You could wear what you got on" proposed Farkas.

"I'm half naked."

"Aren't you always?"

Odei punched him in the new arm. "Dick."

He went over to his dresser and extracted his best shirt. It didn't have a damn stain on it. An achievement he was incredibly proud of. It was a light grey shade and covered his sleeves loosely.

He slipped it on, accompanied by his black pants. He turned to Farkas. "How do I look?"

"Like a douchebag" muttered the warrior.

Odei grunted in frustration. "Any advice then ass-hat?"

"Comb your hair maybe?"

"Yeah, like I wasn't going to do that."

Vilkas walked into the room, a bandage still on his stomach.

"It's time" he said tapping the door post.

Odei quickly took a brush to his hair and adjusted his collar. "Let's get this show on the road gentlemen. I don't wanna keep my lady waiting."

They walked out into the small courtyard in the back of Jorrvaskr, noting the simple decorations. It had a few flowers and vines wrapped around the pillars and petals laced from the door to a small circle at the end. Standing around the edges of the courtyard were the rest of the Companions, each one dressed in casual wear. Most of them looked pretty happy for this.

Odei walked to the circle and took his place at the right side. He stood looking back at the door, waiting for his bride.

"Njada offered to do her hair right?" asked the Harbinger.

"Yep" responded Vilkas.

"Good gods I hope my future wife still has some hair left after that."

Farkas chuckled, but Vilkas scoffed at him.

Aela adjusted the bandages on her head and gave Odei a small grin. "It's good to see this happen. You two were meant for each other."

They stopped and the doors at the end of the courtyard opened.

Njada walked out first, her hair barely coming back. While it did have an extended growth rate, it would take forever to get back.

She stepped to the side and gestured to the door to emphasize the effect.

Ria walked out, wearing a loose white gown with a single blue flower at her shoulder. She had braids in her hair with a few flowers in them that trailed down both shoulders and draped in front of her. For once, she had a genuine shine to her that made her look lovely.

"Lucky bastard" whispered Farkas to Odei.

The Harbinger grinned. He felt truly god-like just looking at his bride.

Ria slowly walked to her groom, holding a bouquet of turquoise flowers. The wind blew just right and some leaves brushed into the courtyard.

"Even Kynareth expresses her favor into this" stated Danica Pure-Spring, the priestess they asked to do this ceremony. "Those leaves aren't coincidence. The wind does not blow in random ways."

"_Hmm"_ thought Odei. _"I like the sound of that."_

Ria reached the circle and Odei kissed her on the forehead. He wanted to kiss her so badly, but that wasn't part of the ceremony.

Danica opened a little book. "You two have been brought together to this day, and such a thing should not be wasted. Your love is absolute, and your hearts true. Both of you have already exchanged a ring, and now you must exchange your hearts."

She turned to Ria. "Ria, will you take this man to be your husband, so that you may love him and he may love you, so that your bond may be inseparable and absolute, and be with him all of your days?"

"I do" said Ria smiling at her near-future husband.

She turned to Odei. "Odei, will you take this woman to be your wife, so that you may love her and she may love you, so that your bond may be inseparable and absolute, and be with her all of your days?"

"I do" said Odei gazing into his wife's eyes.

Danica turned to the fire. "Please face the fire."

They turned to the small fire pit they had moved in there. It was glowing lightly and only had a few sparks left. But that was the overall purpose anyway.

The priestess removed a pair of tongs from their stand and grabbed a chunk of bread from the plate nearby. It was almost like a cookie, but no sugar or yeast added. Placing it into the fire, she hovered it above the coals.

After a few seconds, she lifted it up, It was slightly charged, but still edible.

She gave it to them and they held it together. Then in one motion, snapped it in half.

Ria gave a smile at her husband and they ate the other's piece, not letting their original piece leave their hand. Basic puppy-love stuff.

Once they finished, Danica clapped her hands together. "This marriage is now bound. May the love that binds you today always keep you together for the rest of your days."

She smiled. "Congratulations. You may now kiss."

Odei threw the crumbs off his hand and grabbed his wife by the waist. Twirling her around, he let her droop down before going into a huge kiss.

The Companions cheered, clapping and yelling encouragement at the newest couple.

They broke from their kiss and began to walk back into Jorrvaskr.

* * *

Odei slipped back into his room, a few drinks already pumped into him. He was fetching the matrimonial ale, which was basically the wine of the occasion. It would be shared between only him and Ria, and was seen as the closure of the night. He had no intention of letting that top it off though.

"Heh, this is going to be fun" he murmured grabbing the bottle.

"Your ceremony was rather touching."

Odei grabbed a nearby stool and raised it at the sound.

"Easy. I am not an enemy Dovahkiin."

He stopped. "Who are you? You Fog?"

"Ah, so he calls himself Fog now" said the voice from the shadows. "No, I am not him. But you will find that I am similar."

"How so?"

The voice walked out of the shadows and revealed itself. Unlike Fog it wore all black and no visible boots or gloves. The one thing he could see was a white mask that was completely devoid of markings except for an opening on his left eye.

"We're similar, because people only care when we have on our masks" stated the voice calmly.

"I will ask again. Who are you?"

The voice sighed. "Hind hio Dovah?(Would you prefer Dragon?)"

Odei lowered the stool. "I know that language. It's the one used in the Shouts."

"Correct Dovahkiin. It is a language you know. Takes forever to get right, but worth it."

"Why have you visited me? What do you want of me?" inquired Odei curious.

The figure chuckled and withdrew a book. It had a dragon symbol in silver emblazoned on the cover and was all black.

"You have things to catch up on" he said holding up the book. As he did so his left eye revealed itself to be blind and white.

"But please, enjoy your wedding. I would hate to spoil such a happy occasion. This book can be read at any time. It is after all, written for you."


End file.
